


The Worst Day of his Life

by Uncle2fire



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Depression, M/M, Mean!Gally, Nice!Teresa, Nice!Thomas, Other characters will show up in later chapters, Popular!Thomas, shy!newt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-04-13 06:22:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 28,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4511214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uncle2fire/pseuds/Uncle2fire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newt knew that today was going to be a bad day, he just didn't know how bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Puddle

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first fanfic EVER, so I would love to hear what you guys think! I've been reading so many other Newtmas fanfics recently, and this idea came into my head and I just ended up writing it, so here you go!

This was probably the worst day of his life. No, this was definitely the worst day of his life.

\-- ten hours earlier --

5:57 am: Ugh. It had been one of those nights. It seemed like only ten minutes had gone by since he had fallen asleep last night, and then, of course, he’d managed to make it even worse by waking up three minutes before his alarm. Today was not going to be a good day.

As he pulled himself out of bed, turning off his alarm as he went, he managed to cheer himself up a bit, reminding himself that today was, in fact, Friday. And not any Friday, either. Today was the Friday before a three day weekend, which, Newt reminded himself energetically, made it even better than a normal Friday.

Leaving his room, he crossed the hall and made it into the shower, letting cold water run over his head for a few seconds to wake himself up. No use sulking over a bad night’s rest!

After his shower, he pulled on the clothes he’d set out the night before. He cheered up even more when he realized that today he got to wear his favorite shirt! It was grey, with big letters: “Trust me, I’m the Doctor”. He smiled, like he always did when thinking about his favorite TV show. He loved wearing this shirt, which is why he always set it out for Thursday, since Thursdays were his least favorite day of the week.

Wait…

If this shirt was set out for today, then today must be Thursday. Which meant that today was not Friday. He groaned loudly and could feel a headache coming on. Looking outside, he saw that it was raining. Except no, it wasn’t just raining, it was pouring. Of course. Shirt or no shirt, today was definitely not going to be a good day.

\--

Newt hated chemistry. Honestly though, he hated it. It was like his brain refused to understand anything in this class. Math he could do. Biology was easy. History was no problem. But chemistry? No such luck. It’s not that he didn’t pay attention, because he did. Or at least he tried. Sometimes. On Mondays.

Today was Thursday, okay? It wasn’t his fault Thursdays sucked. And it wasn’t his fault that Thomas sat in front of him in chemistry, either. You know, if he thought about it, it was probably Thomas’ fault he couldn’t pay attention. Yeah, blame it on Thomas. He’ll never know.

Thomas, aside from being Newt’s distraction in chemistry, was basically the perfect guy. At least, that’s how Newt thought of him. It made him easier to blame. Thomas was the straight-A student, really smart, the star of the cross-country team, and was ridiculously handsome. And he was nice. To everyone. No, really. He was terrible, and he was everything Newt wasn’t.

Newt did well in school, sure, but he didn’t like to think of himself as really smart. He was tall, and he liked his own eyes and hair, but did he think of himself as handsome? Well, not really. He wasn’t bad looking, but he couldn’t really see himself as handsome, or cute, or really shucking hot, like Thomas.

And he was shy. Like, really shy. Newt couldn’t think of the last time he had started a conversation with anyone aside from his mom. Frankly, he had self-esteem issues. But after almost two years of high school, his status as the quiet English kid had been locked in. He didn’t think he could change it even if he’d wanted to. Not that he’d want to. After all, he had his books and his sketchpad, and what else did he need?

As he was moving on to think about how on Earth the teacher got that flame to turn purple (maybe if he’d been paying attention? But it was Thursday!), the bell rang, and he jumped in his seat. He heard someone snicker behind him, and he felt himself start to blush. Even more embarrassed at the fact that he was embarrassed, he quickly hid his face, grabbed his things and left the room.

“Finally!” he thought to himself. Only one class left to go, and it would be a breeze. It was English class, and he was Mrs. Paige’s favorite student, which meant that he could get away with not paying attention. Usually he paid attention anyway, just because he loved books, but today they were talking about the “literary symbolism of color and flowers”. Ugh.

Instead, he fished his sketchbook out of his bag and began idly doodling on the page, waiting for the final bell only an hour away.

\--

“Okay everyone, I know it’s a bit early, but I need to go meet with the principal this afternoon, so I’ll be letting you all go now. Remember to read through chapter 27 tonight! We’ll be discussing the novel so far in class tomorrow.”

Newt looked at the clock as Mrs. Paige left the classroom. It was only 2:20 pm! His other classmates were gathering up their things, and Newt started to do the same when he noticed his sketchpad. Oh no.

Staring up at him from the page was Thomas, and he was really well drawn. And Newt would have taken that as a compliment except he realized that it was creepy. Really creepy. Had he ever even talked to Thomas? He didn’t think so…

He went to close the book, but before he did, he heard that voice behind him. Without doubt the worst person in existence. By some terrible act of God, Gally had managed to end up sitting behind Newt in every class except one, and he seemed to take some kind of sick joy from making Newt’s life hell. Oh, and he was basically best friends with Thomas.

“Is that Thomas?”

Newt went to close the book, but Gally beat him to it, grabbing it off the desk and looking at it up close.

“Dude, you drew Thomas.”

“Give it back, Gally.” Newt tried to be stern, but heard his voice crack. Gally laughed and held the book in the air for the rest of the class to see.

“Look everyone, Newt’s got a crush on Thomas!”

The rest of the class looked around and a few of them laughed. Others looked weirded out. Of course they’re weirded out, Newt thought, he’d drawn a picture of Thomas! That was weird and it was creepy and it was pathetic. “Just like me” Newt thought to himself.

Feeling his classmates' eyes on him, Newt ran out of the classroom, leaving all his stuff behind, as he heard Gally yell after him “Queer!”

\--

He didn’t know what to do. He’d left all his stuff in the classroom, and now here he was, locked in the bathroom crying. That was it. This day could not get worse, he was sure. And how pathetic was he? He’d run away like a scared kitten and hidden in the bathroom, so he could cry alone. And how long had it been? He checked his phone: 3:31 pm. He’d been in here an hour. No wonder no one here seemed to like him; he was so, so pathetic.

At least the sounds of other students had died down outside. Everyone else was gone now, so maybe he could get his things and leave without being seen? Doctor Who could cheer him up, and maybe he could convince his mom to let him skip school tomorrow? She would understand, right? Yeah.

Feeling better, he got himself off the floor (he’d been crying for an hour on the floor?) and left the bathroom. The school was totally deserted, so he walked quietly back to Mrs. Paige’s classroom, feeling small and alone in the empty halls. When he finally made it to the door, it was locked. Shit. All his stuff was in there! Unless, of course, Gally decided to have some fun with it. Maybe he should just go home?

Except, his umbrella was in there too. Glancing outside, he could see that yes, it was definitely still raining, harder than ever, probably. Just his luck.

\--

It took him ten minutes to finally find a janitor to open the door, though he certainly wasn’t happy about it.

“You kids, always leaving your things all over the place. Someday it’ll all be stolen, and then you’ll know better, won’t you?”

Looking into the room, Newt ran over to his desk and reached for his backpack, which he always hung over the back of the chair. Except, it wasn’t there. Nothing was there. His stuff was gone.

“Well, see what I said? I hope you didn’t have anything valuable in there, but at least you’ll know better for next time, isn’t that right?” The janitor almost seemed happy Newt had learned his lesson. Arrogant twat.

Newt pushed past him and ran out of the building, feeling himself starting to tear up again. He had been wrong earlier. The day did get worse, and now he would have to walk home in the rain, with no umbrella, no bag, and no sketchpad. “Why did I even get up this morning?” He thought to himself, as he wiped away tears from his eyes.

\--

It was only a fifteen minute walk, but it felt like it was taking forever. He was completely drenched, shivering and still crying.

“This day could not get any worse.” For a second he almost believed it too, before he found himself tripping over a pothole in the road, and slipping into a puddle that must have been two feet deep, landing on his side.

Unable to think, and not wanting to move, he started to cry again. How could this day get any worse than it was now? Half of him wanted to just lay down and die right there in the puddle. What he heard next made the other half agree.

“Newt? Is that you? Are you okay?”

He knew that voice. It was gentle, and full of genuine concern. It was Thomas.

This was probably the worst day of his life. No, this was definitely the worst day of his life.

\--


	2. Hypothermia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Newt, you're sitting in a puddle in the pouring rain. You don't look okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the kudos and comments! They are always appreciated! Like I said on the first chapter, this is my first fanfic EVER, so I'd love to hear how you guys think I'm doing!

“Newt? Is that you? Are you okay?”

He knew that voice. It was gentle, and full of genuine concern. It was Thomas.

This was probably the worst day of his life. No, this was definitely the worst day of his life.

\--

Newt froze. He tried to convince himself that he had imagined Thomas’ voice. There was no way he could possibly be that unlucky, right?

“Newt?”

Thomas was a lot closer this time, and Newt jerked his head around to look at him. Thomas was standing under an umbrella only a few feet away, a look of confusion and concern on his face.

“You…you know my name?” Newt winced as soon as the words had left his mouth. That was definitely not what he had meant to say, but leave it to him to say something that pathetic when Thomas was talking to him. He wished he could take the words back, but instead, he looked away from Thomas in embarrassment. He almost expected Thomas to laugh at him, but he didn’t say anything. It felt like ages before Thomas said anything, and when he finally did respond, he was almost whispering.

“Of course I know your name.” Newt felt himself blush, and looked back at Thomas, as if trying to judge if he were lying or not. He was surprised when he saw a flash of hurt vanish from Thomas’ face, replaced by his old look of concern. “Are you okay?”

“I…I’m okay.” Newt only managed to whisper the words, and he was sure Thomas hadn’t heard him.

“Newt, you’re sitting in a puddle in the pouring rain. You don’t look okay.”

Newt tried to talk again, but before he could, he felt Thomas’ hands under his arms, pulling him out of the puddle. “Newt, you’re soaking wet! How far away is your house?”

“It’s, er…it’s far…” Newt couldn’t think straight with Thomas’ hands still on him, holding him up and then moving to his shoulders, which were starting to shiver in the cold rain.

“I’ll give you a ride.”

“…What?” Newt didn’t understand. A ride?

Thomas pointed across the street, where a car was idling. “I’ll give you a ride home. You shouldn’t be walking home soaking wet anyways. You’ll get sick.”

Oh. Thomas was offering to drive Newt home. Just the two of them. In Thomas’ car. Newt was speechless and still frozen on the spot. This wasn’t a nightmare anymore, but it must still be a dream, thought Newt. Earlier today, he would have guessed that Thomas didn’t even know his name, but now here they were together, Thomas saving him from his miserable day.

“C’mon.” Thomas started guiding Newt back to the car, with one hand on Newt’s back and the other holding the umbrella over them both.

“But I’m wet. I’ll drip all over the seats.” For some reason, Newt was trying to avoid getting in the car. Who knows what he’d say if he were alone with Thomas?

“It’s okay, it’s just water. It’ll dry out.” Thomas kept leading him towards the car, and Newt still had no control over his body to get away. As they reached the passenger door, Thomas opened it for him and held the umbrella up, waiting for Newt to climb in.

“But…I…” Newt tried to make up another excuse not to get in, but couldn’t come up with anything. He looked over at Thomas, who was looking him directly in the eyes.

“Get in the car, Newt. I’m not letting you walk home like this.” He gestured with his hands to indicate Newt’s soaked clothes and shivering body. Newt hesitated for another few seconds before lowering himself into the seat, as Thomas closed the door behind him.

Alone in the car, Newt suddenly felt so cold, like he hadn’t realized earlier how wet he really was. He started to shiver as he hugged his arms around himself and closed his eyes, wishing he was warm again. It must have been a few minutes before he realized that the car wasn’t moving.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Thomas looking over at him, still looking as concerned as ever, with his brow furrowed. Newt was wondering why he hadn’t started driving yet, when Thomas gently asked him, the look of concern never leaving his face, “Where do you live?”

“Er…it’s another four blocks up this way and then…a left on Duffield.”

Thomas gave him a small smile, and then started driving, leaving Newt to close his eyes again and shiver, as he felt Thomas turn up the heat in the car. Newt felt himself start to feel sleepy, but before he could nod off, Thomas was talking to him.

“Hey Newt, don’t try to go to sleep. You could be hypothermic. You need to stay awake until you get warmed up, okay?”

Newt wanted to respond, but he just felt so sleepy. He closed his eyes, but Thomas reached over and shook his shoulder gently.

“Newt? Just try to listen to my voice, okay? You can’t fall asleep right now.”

Newt only managed to hum in response, but Thomas didn’t seem satisfied with that. “Newt, you have to talk to me, okay? Just try to talk to me.”

Newt almost giggled at how ridiculous this was. He had trouble even thinking of talking to Thomas when he was fully conscious, let alone actually talking to him when he was hypothermic. In the end, though, he forced himself to respond. “Okay.”

He felt the car turning to the left, on to Duffield, he guessed.

“It’s number 3201” he supplied without Thomas asking.

“Thanks.” Thomas was still talking gently, but cleared his throat nervously after. “Um, I actually have your stuff?”

That woke Newt up quickly, reminding him how this whole terrible day had started. Did Thomas know about the drawing? Had he seen it? Newt felt nauseous, and kept his eyes closed.

“Teresa said that you had had a bad afternoon, and that you had left all your stuff in Mrs. Paige’s classroom, so I went and got it for you, but I couldn’t find you to give it back…”

Newt felt weak and small as he tried to talk. “Did…did you look at it?”

Newt couldn’t see Thomas’ face, but could still hear the confusion in his voice. “Look at what?”

“Did you look in the sketchbook?” Newt was already cringing, waiting for Thomas to say he’d seen the drawing. Waiting for Thomas to reject him, tell him that he didn’t think about guys like that, remind Newt that he had a girlfriend. Teresa was probably the prettiest girl in their class, and almost as nice as Thomas.

“No? Of course not. Why would I go through your stuff?”

Newt was so confused, and the hypothermia was not helping. Why hadn’t Gally told Thomas all about it? Why hadn’t Teresa? She was in Newt’s class with Mrs. Paige, and she had been there when Gally had stolen his sketchbook; she hadn’t been one of the ones to laugh, but she had still been there. Why would Teresa tell Thomas that Newt had had a bad day, but not tell him why?

“We’re here.” Thomas broke through Newt’s panicking brain. “Stay here. I’ll come around and get you.”

Before Newt could do anything, Thomas had gotten out of the car and was coming around to get him. He opened the door and helped Newt out of the car, holding the umbrella over them as they walked up to the house.

“Do you have a key?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah.” Newt tried to fumble around in his pocket, but couldn’t get the key out. Seeing his frustration, Thomas reached over and dug the key out of the pocket of his jeans and inserted it into the door lock, pushing the door open as he helped Newt inside.

“Are your parents home?”

“No, my mum won’t get off work until eight.” Newt looked at the clock: 4:49 pm.

“That’s okay. I can help you out. First, we need to get you out of these clothes.” Thomas gestured just like he had earlier, indicating Newt’s dripping jeans and T-shirt.

It was like Newt’s brain had stopped working. He just nodded mutely as Thomas asked where his room was, leading him to the stairs, where Thomas again guided him with a hand to his back.

When they got to Newt’s room, Thomas quickly went into the bathroom next door and came back with a stack of towels.

“Newt, we need to warm you up. You have to take off those clothes and then dry off.” He handed Newt the towels and suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Um…where are there more blankets?”

Newt felt at least twice as uncomfortable as Thomas looked and was happy that Thomas had found an excuse for Newt to undress in private.  
“They’re in the cupboard beside the stairs.”

Thomas nodded awkwardly and left, leaving Newt alone to quickly strip off his clothes and dry himself off with the towels. He felt better almost immediately once he had taken off his still-dripping clothes and draped them over the chair at his desk.

Not wanting Thomas to walk back in on him naked, he jumped under the cover on his bed and curled up, trying to get warm.

“I’ve got some more blankets for you. Can I come in?” Thomas was talking through the door, clearly also not wanting to walk in on Newt naked.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Thomas was still looking uncomfortable and was looking around Newt’s room, clearly trying to avoid looking at Newt. Of course he was, thought Newt. Why would he want to look at a guy who was naked, even if he was under the covers in bed?

Thomas seemed to notice the wet clothes draped over the desk chair and reached for them.

“I’ll take these to the bathroom? So they won’t drip on the carpet in here?”

He was out of the room again before Newt could respond, and then was back again before Newt had time to wonder what he should do now.

Thomas stood awkwardly for a few seconds in the doorway before suddenly talking really quickly.

“Yeah, so make sure you don’t fall asleep until you’re warmed up. You’re probably tired, but try to distract yourself.”

“Distract myself?”

“Yeah, like read a book, or just think, or something. Wait, did you say you had a sketchbook? Try to draw something!”

Thomas jumped and grabbed the sketchbook out of Newt’s book bag, which he had brought up with Newt earlier. Newt cringed, afraid that Thomas would open it for him, but he didn’t.

After Newt took the book from him, Thomas seemed totally lost, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. The silence sat over them a few long, awkward moments before they both started talking at once.

“You don’t have to stay-“

“I should probably go-“

Newt looked away as he felt himself start to blush. Thomas started talking again before Newt could recover.

“Yeah, I should probably go. Make sure you, um…stay warm and eat something.”

“Yeah…I will. Thanks.”

“Yeah…so, bye?”

“…bye.”

With that Thomas left, and Newt listened to him walk down the stairs and shut the door behind him. He hated himself for how awkward he had been. Why hadn’t he thanked Thomas properly? I mean, what would Thomas think of him now? He would probably feel bad for him forever now, after rescuing him like that. And Newt hadn’t even thanked him! Not properly, at least.

Would Thomas even acknowledge him at school? Would Newt ever want to face him again? He would probably be so embarrassed by this tomorrow that he’d never want to see Thomas again. He should just go ahead and get over him. It was for the best.

Newt looked down and saw that he had been drawing the whole time he was panicking in his head. He groaned. Get over him? Yeah right. Not in a million years, he thought.

He was drawing Thomas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Hypothermia is a serious and potentially dangerous medical issue and if you or anyone else you are with is hypothermic, you should seek medical attention right away!


	3. Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A guy from school. He did it. He drove me home, after I fell in the puddle. He gave me a lift and then helped me inside. He said I was hypothermic, so he told me I should change and warm up…” Newt was blushing and rambling, but his mom only looked concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a short chapter for you guys. I meant for this to only be the first half-ish of the third chapter, but it went on a lot longer than I expected, so I made it its own chapter. That said, the next chapter is already nearly done, and will probably be uploaded this weekend (yay!).
> 
> Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Newt looked down and saw that he had been drawing the whole time he was panicking in his head. He groaned. Get over him? Yeah right. Not in a million years, he thought.

He was drawing Thomas.

\--

By 8:30, Newt was nearly done with his drawing. He had spent at least an hour just on Thomas’ eyes, trying to recreate the pure joy that sparkled in them whenever he laughed. And that wasn’t including the time Newt spent trying to convince himself that it wasn’t creepy that he had such a complex mental picture of Thomas’ eyes.

Somehow, he had managed to capture Thomas’ smile on his first try, and his hair too. He had even surprised himself by how realistic the drawing was, shading and all. All he had left to do was fix his ears. Newt was terrible at drawing ears. They were so shapeless, but at the same time so difficult to get right.

It was just then that he heard his mom come in downstairs, and he blushed. Had he really spent the last three hours drawing Thomas? Looking at the sketchpad in his lap, he realized that he had. He was hopeless.

He heard his mom coming up the stairs and quickly stashed the sketchpad under his bed, looking up as she walked into his room.

“Hi Newt.” She was smiling gently. “You’re already in bed? Did you have a long day at school?” She sat down next to him on his bed and gently squeezed his hand.

Newt felt himself blushing, so he looked down at his blankets as he responded. “Er...yeah. Yeah, it was long.”

“What happened to your clothes? I saw them hanging up in the bathroom. Did you lose your umbrella?”

“Oh.” Newt had forgotten about that. “Er…no. I fell into a puddle.” When his mom looked skeptical, he realized what she was thinking. “Really, mum, I swear. I slipped and fell.”

“Newt, has that boy at school been bullying you again? You need to tell me, or someone, if he is. Keeping it to yourself won’t make him stop.”

Newt’s mom was really his only friend, and he told her everything. He used to come home from school and cry into her shoulder almost every day, before she started working a later shift. The bullying had been worse then, or maybe he had just gotten better at ignoring it. Either way, it had been months since he had cried in front of her, but she was obviously still worried about him.

“Really. I swear, mum. It was an accident.”

“Well, okay. Thank you for hanging up your clothes. They would’ve gone mouldy if you’d’ve left them on the floor.”

Suddenly, Newt blushed and felt a pang of embarrassment. He hadn’t been the one who had hung up the clothes. It had been Thomas. It seemed almost like a dream, thinking of it now. Thomas had picked him up out of the puddle, driven him home, and then made sure he was comfortable. He had even hung up Newt’s wet clothes. He had been so nice to Newt, and Newt had only managed to be awkward about everything. “That wasn’t me…”

“What do you mean?” His mom looked confused. Of course she was, Newt thought to himself. Who else would have hung up his clothes?

“A guy from school. He did it. He drove me home, after I fell in the puddle. He gave me a lift and then helped me inside. He said I was hypothermic, so he told me I should change and warm up…” Newt was blushing and rambling, but his mom only looked concerned.

“You were hypothermic?” Her eyes flashed with concern, just like Thomas’ had when he found Newt sitting in that puddle. She quickly checked his forehead with her hand. “You’re warm. I’ll get the thermometer.”

She got up and went into the bathroom, coming back a few seconds later, putting the thermometer into his mouth. She still seemed a bit concerned, but as they waited for his temperature, she looked at him with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile. “A boy from school? What’s his name?”

“Mum!” Newt groaned and rolled his eyes, but he blushed anyways. “He was only being nice, not declaring his love. It’s not like this is some terrible romance novel.”

“Stop being cheeky. You’ll just have to wait longer for your temperature.” She was smiling at him now. “You didn’t answer the question.”

Newt only blushed, but that was clearly enough of an answer for her. Before she could say anything else, though, the thermometer beeped loudly.

“101.1 degrees. You’ve got fever.”

“So, does that mean that I get to stay home from school tomorrow?” Newt tried giving her his cheekiest smile, but all he got in return was a laugh.

“If you want. But I won’t be waiting on you. I’ve got to go to work, so you’ll be on your own.”

Newt only grinned at the thought of a day at home alone. “All the better not to have you fussing over me, yeah?”

She grinned back at him. “If didn’t have fever, you’d get a smack on the head for that.”

“I love you, mum.”

“I love you too, Newt.” She leaned over and kissed his forehead.

Getting up from the bed, she looked over at him and said, in the most authoritative voice she could muster: “Now, get some sleep. I’ll bring you a glass of water later. Be sure you drink it. You need to stay hydrated.”

“Yes, mum.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been trying to write Newt's accent into the story by writing his dialogue in British English (as best I can), and I've written his mom like this too. Unfortunately, I'm not British, so if you find any mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them! Also, if you've thought earlier that I was spelling things weirdly sometimes, that's probably why :P


	4. Home Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt’s heart sank. This was it. Teresa had told him everything. How Newt had been looking at him enough to draw him, how Gally had shown the drawing to the whole class. How he had run out crying. How Newt liked him. Newt winced, ready for the rejection he knew was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for you guys! I hope you all like it!
> 
> As always, comments are really appreciated! Let me know what you think, where you think the story is going (or should go), or any constructive criticism!

“Now, get some sleep. I’ll bring you a glass of water later. Be sure you drink it. You need to stay hydrated.”

“Yes, mum.”

\--

Newt couldn’t sleep. Not that that was anything new. He hadn’t really been getting enough sleep for months. He could never get comfortable or warm enough to fall asleep until early morning, and had gotten used to functioning on three or four hours’ sleep.

This time was different. Usually, he would toss and turn for hours, thinking about how miserable the bullies at school made his life, or about how lost and lonely he felt without any real friends. Sometimes he wouldn’t think at all, and just stare at the ceiling until sleep came.

This time, he was thinking about Thomas. Sure, he had done that before, but it had always been self-deprecating. Thomas didn't know who he was, or Thomas was unfairly handsome, and smart, and kind. It had always been hopeless and sad. This time, it was more like he was too restless to sleep, but not really sad.

Thomas knew who he was.

That alone should have been enough to cheer him up, but if anything, it made him nervous. What had his exact words been? “Of course I know your name.” What had he meant by “of course”? Maybe he had noticed Newt before? Maybe he had made an effort to learn Newt’s name? Newt smiled at the thought of Thomas thinking about him.

But, just as suddenly as Newt smiled, he frowned. Of course that’s not what Thomas meant. He probably just felt bad that Newt thought he was so invisible. He was so pathetic. So pitiable. Of course Thomas didn’t like him, or think about him. He just felt bad for him. And Thomas, being ridiculously nice to everyone, just couldn’t bear to see Newt so vulnerable.

Now Newt was sad, just like the other times he couldn’t sleep. He tried to take comfort in the thought of not going to school the next morning. He wouldn’t have to face Gally, or any of the others who had laughed. He wouldn’t have to face Thomas. That was what scared him most. How would Thomas treat him? Would he be just as nice as he always was to everyone? Would he ask Newt if he was okay? Would he pretend none of it had ever happened? Newt didn’t know which he was most afraid of.

He tried to take comfort in his day off, but it didn’t work. He curled up and couldn’t help feeling lonely and rejected for the rest of the night.

\--

7:00 am: Now it was official. Newt had spent ten hours tossing, turning, staring at the ceiling, and wishing he weren’t so pathetic, and he hadn’t gotten any sleep. He was exhausted, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, so he got up to have breakfast with his mom.

When he came into the kitchen, his mom turned around smiling, but when she saw him, she looked immediately concerned. “Newt, you look absolutely horrid. Did you sleep?”

“No, I couldn’t.”

She put down her mug on the table and came over to him, putting her hands on either side of his face. “Again? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just…couldn’t.” Newt knew that she understood what he meant, and her expression changed accordingly.

“Newt. I love you.”

“I was fine, really I was. It was just yesterday. It wasn’t only the puddle. I just…” He was desperate to tell his mom he was alright, but he couldn’t find the words. He could see her start to tear up, still smiling and looking into his eyes.

“I know, Newt. You just…you just take your day and watch some Doctor Who, yeah?”

“Yeah. I can do that.”

“Should I stay home? I can still call, let them know I can’t make it in today?”

“No. No, mum I’ll be fine.” He tried smiling at her, letting her know that he’d make it through. “Really. You can go into work. I’ll just do what you said, catch some Doctor Who.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll be alright, mum.”

Her eyes still misty, she pulled Newt into a tight hug. “I love you.”

“Thanks, mum”.

\--

3:07 pm: And that was number ten. Newt had spent the whole day watching Doctor Who episodes back-to-back. He had a list of his favorite twelve episodes, which he used to cheer himself up on days like this. He would put on his most comfortable baggy sweatpants and sweatshirt, curl up with a generous helping of tea, and watch them countdown-style, until he got to his all-time favorite episode at the end of the binge. He had just finished the tenth episode, and was ready to start the eleventh when he heard a knock at the front door.

His mom couldn’t be home yet, and she would have a key anyways. If this was some salesman, Newt was going to be pissed. Interrupting a Doctor Who marathon might as well be blasphemy, as far as Newt was concerned.

As he walked over to the door, he got ready to put on his poshest accent, which always made telling people off more effective (and more fun). Except, when he opened the door, it wasn’t a salesman. It was Thomas.

\--

Newt was speechless. Thomas was standing at his front door, smiling shyly, looking awkward.

“Hi, Newt. You weren’t at school today, so I wanted to come over to make sure you were okay?”

Newt didn’t know what to say. He was not expecting this. At all. What did you say to someone who was probably the nicest person on the planet? Apparently, he spent long enough being quiet to make Thomas nervous.

“Newt?”

“Er…yeah. Yeah, I’m doing well. I just took the day to…you know. Recover.” Newt could feel himself blushing and tried to fight it, but that only made it worse. Thomas didn’t seem to notice; he smiled widely.

“You look like you’ve been relaxing.”

“Yeah, I’ve been having a bit of a marathon.”

“Really?” Thomas looked excited at the prospect. “What are you watching?”

“Doctor Who. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it…”

“I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never seen an episode. You like it, though?”

“Yeah. It’s really popular in England…”

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Thomas nervously asked: “Can I come in?”

“Er…yeah. Yeah, sure.” Newt pulled the door open, and Thomas closed it behind himself.

Newt glanced over into the living room, where his mess of blankets and dirty mugs were laying in front of the TV and winced a bit in embarrassment. “We could go to my room?”

“Yeah.”

Newt turned toward the stairs and led the way to his room, remembering how Thomas had helped him up them just the day before. They got all the way into Newt’s room and closed the door before either of them spoke again. Newt sat on the bed and fidgeted with his hands while Thomas stood awkwardly by the door. It was Thomas who spoke first.

“I talked to Teresa today.”

Newt’s heart sank. This was it. Teresa had told him everything. How Newt had been looking at him enough to draw him, how Gally had shown the drawing to the whole class. How he had run out crying. How Newt liked him. Newt winced, ready for the rejection he knew was coming.

“I asked her what happened yesterday. You know, with you. She told me you’d had a really bad day, but she didn’t tell me why. She said I should talk to you?”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“No. She said that if I wanted to know, I should ask you. I do want to know.”

Newt was lost, and said the first thing that came to mind. “Gally knows. You could ask him.”

“Gally? Wait. Did Gally do something to you?”

“I thought he would tell you.”

“Why? We never talk. He’s a jackass.” That got Newt to look up, and he saw something dawn on Thomas’ face. “Did he do something to you? What did he do?”

Newt didn’t know what to say. He thought Thomas and Gally were best friends? They certainly seemed to spend a lot of time together. Thankfully, Thomas started talking again, before Newt had a chance to explain.

“I know he was bullying you a few months ago, but I thought he stopped after I talked to him.”

“I thought you were friends?”

“With who?” Thomas looked confused now, and Newt realized that he was way behind in the conversation.

“You and Gally. I thought you were friends?”

“Are you kidding? No way. He’s a jackass. He has a huge crush on Teresa, and won’t leave her alone. That’s the only reason he hangs around with us all the time.”

Newt needed a minute to take that in. All this time, Thomas had disliked Gally too? Wait. What had Thomas said earlier? Newt was so confused right now, and doing his best to catch up to the conversation. “What do you mean you talked to Gally?”

Thomas blushed as he answered. “I knew he was bullying you, and I told him to stop, or I’d get Teresa to punch him in the nose. I thought he’d stopped after that. I’m sorry.”

“You…you tried to get him to stop?” Newt was a mess. He didn’t know what to feel or think anymore, and he suddenly felt exhausted too. It was like his world had been turned upside down.

“No one deserves to be bullied. Especially not you, Newt.”

Thomas’ voice was soft and so honest. Newt couldn’t help himself; he started to cry. The more he cried, the harder it got to hold back, and soon, he was sitting on his bed sobbing. All the loneliness, depression and worthlessness he had been dealing with for months fell on him at once, and he felt completely helpless.

Suddenly, he felt Thomas sitting next to him, and then Thomas’ arms around him. “It’s okay. You’ll be okay, Newt. Let it out and you’ll feel better afterwards.” Thomas was hugging him tightly and gently rubbing up and down his back. Sobbing harder than ever, and feeling tears running endlessly down his cheeks, Newt leaned over and rested his head against Thomas’ shoulder. Feeling the exhaustion from months of sleeplessness falling over him, Newt finally feel asleep, his head still against Thomas’ shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm moving back to college this weekend, with classes starting on Wednesday, so I may not be able to update until next weekend. Sorry! :O


	5. I Don't Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I-I’m sorry. About this. It’s just, after last night, you were so sad. You were crying, and then you-you basically passed out on my shoulder. I didn’t want you to wake up alone.” Thomas rubbed the back of his neck before going back to fidgeting with his hands, before looking up at Newt with wide eyes, full of concern and sincerity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, I'm alive! My last chapter was published just before coming back to college, and this one is now done after I survived midterms! I've had writer's bock and a lot more going on than I expected, so I'm sorry it took so long to get this out there for you guys. It's shorter than usual, but I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to be able to start publishing weekly again.
> 
> As always, comments are always appreciated! I love each and every comment and commenter I get!

Suddenly, he felt Thomas sitting next to him, and then Thomas’ arms around him. “It’s okay. You’ll be okay, Newt. Let it out and you’ll feel better afterwards.” Thomas was hugging him tightly and gently rubbing up and down his back. Sobbing harder than ever, and feeling tears running endlessly down his cheeks, Newt leaned over and rested his head against Thomas’ shoulder. Feeling the exhaustion from months of sleeplessness falling over him, Newt finally feel asleep, his head still against Thomas’ shoulder.

\--

“Newt?”

Newt was dreaming, of course. There was no way that Thomas was actually whispering to him right now, and to be fair, it wouldn’t be the first time Newt had dreamed of Thomas waking him up.

“Newt? Wake up.”

Dream Thomas was a bit louder this time.

“I have to go to the bathroom. Newt? Wake up.”

Dream Thomas was insistent. Newt groaned a bit as he woke up, expecting Dream Thomas to disappear as usual once he opened his eyes. As he did open his eyes, he felt someone gently shaking his left arm, and found himself nuzzled into a warm shoulder, the same left arm draped across the same someone’s chest.

“Hey Newt, I really have to go to the bathroom.”

The words were whispered, but they paralyzed Newt. Thomas was in his bed, and Newt’s arm was draped over his body. They had been snuggling for shuck’s sake! What had even happened the night before? Newt couldn’t remember…

“Newt? Are you awake?” Thomas gave his arm another gentle shake.

“Oh. Er… yeah. Sorry.” Newt quickly pulled his arm off Thomas and moved backwards away from him so quickly he almost fell off the bed, careful not to make eye contact with Thomas.

“Thanks.” Thomas jumped quickly off the bed and bounded towards the door, and Newt felt him pause after opening it, glancing back at him for a second and hesitating before leaving and shutting the door quietly as he did.

The silence in the room was suddenly deafening, and Newt could hear his breathing and heartbeat fill his ears. He tried to remember what had happened the night before, and it suddenly came back to him. He had been watching Doctor Who. He had only made it through the first ten episodes when Thomas came over. They had come to his room and talked…and Newt had cried. Newt remembered that. He had cried a lot, and then… nothing. What had happened after that? He couldn’t remember. When had they ended up in bed together?

By the time the door opened quietly again, Newt was half thinking and hoping that the whole thing had been a dream, but Thomas was definitely standing by the door awkwardly. Newt avoided making eye contact again by looking at his pants, which now that Newt was looking at them, were definitely a pair of his own sweat pants. Where did…

“I’m sorry.”

Newt looked up, startled. Thomas was standing near the door, looking very uncomfortable, fidgeting with his hands, and looking at the floor. “What?”

“I-I’m sorry. About this. It’s just, after last night, you were so sad. You were crying, and then you-you basically passed out on my shoulder. I didn’t want you to wake up alone.” Thomas rubbed the back of his neck before going back to fidgeting with his hands, before looking up at Newt with wide eyes, full of concern and sincerity.

Newt looked away immediately. This was definitely not happening. Thomas had spent the night with him so he wouldn’t have to wake up alone. This was definitely a dream.

Thomas moved back to the bed slowly. “You seemed freaked out when I woke you up. I didn’t want to make it weird. I’m sorry.”

“It’s er… it’s fine.” Newt felt his voice crack. “Really, it’s not that. It’s just, I’m not used to waking up with someone else.” Newt blushed and felt suddenly vulnerable, pulling the blanket around himself.

“Okay.” Thomas still was standing awkwardly beside the bed. “Can I get back in? If that’s okay?”

“Er…yeah. Yeah, that’s fine.” Newt made sure to stay on his own side of the bed, not making any contact with Thomas as he climbed in and pulled the covers over himself.

They both lay silently for a few minutes, Newt feeling more and more awkward as the seconds ticked by. He was getting ready to say something, though he didn’t know what, when Thomas spoke up softly.

“It’s only 4:15. We could go back to sleep?”

Newt mumbled a quick “yeah” before they both returned to silence. Newt tried to get comfortable by moving around a bit, feeling his space limited by Thomas’ warm body on the other side of the bed. He rearranged himself restlessly for a few minutes before Thomas spoke again.

“Newt? I don’t mind.”

Newt didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure what to say.

“I don’t mind sharing a bed with you.” Thomas paused for few seconds. “I don’t mind if we touch while sleeping. I’m not going to freak out.”

Newt didn’t move at first, but slowly inched closer to Thomas, feeling the warmth radiating from his side of the bed. There, he finally started to drift back to sleep, comfortable and warm. Just before he did, he thought he heard Thomas whisper something.

“I don’t mind if we cuddle a bit.”


	6. Breakfast?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas’ face lit up again. “So, is it time for breakfast?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's something for all of you! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving (or fourth Thursday of November, for those of you not in the US)!
> 
> As always, please comment! I love comments almost as much as I love pie (Thanksgiving reference)! :P

Newt didn’t move at first, but slowly inched closer to Thomas, feeling the warmth radiating from his side of the bed. There, he finally started to drift back to sleep, comfortable and warm. Just before he did, he thought he heard Thomas whisper something.

“I don’t mind if we cuddle a bit.”

\--

The next time Newt woke up, it was into a dream come true, made all the better because he knew this time that it was real. Thomas was still in bed with him, and Newt blushed when he realized that they were cuddling again the same way they had been before, with his head nuzzled into Thomas’ shoulder and his left arm draped over Thomas’ chest.

He’d woken up naturally this time, so Thomas was still asleep. Newt took a minute to wish that he could wake up like this every morning, snuggling slightly closer before inhaling and sighing deeply, more content to lie in bed forever than he had been in a long time.

“Are you awake?”

Thomas may have only whispered the words, but he may as well have sounded an airhorn for how much they shocked Newt. He fell backwards, and would have ended up on the floor if Thomas hadn’t grabbed him by the arm first.

Newt could feel his heart beating loud and fast. If Thomas had been awake, how much of Newt’s weird snuggling and inhaling had he noticed? When Newt did look up, he saw Thomas on the other side of the bed, grinning wildly and shaking gently in laughter, eyes bright and sparkling.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“It’s fine.” Newt felt himself blushing, but couldn’t stop himself from grinning like Thomas. “I thought you were still asleep.”

“No, no, I’ve been awake for a while now.” Newt could swear that Thomas was blushing. “I was waiting for you to wake up.”

There was silence for a moment, as they sat on opposite sides of the bed, Thomas grinning as widely as ever. Newt cringed before breaking the silence.

“I’m sorry. You were awake for a while, and I-I was basically sleeping on you.” Newt laughed nervously, hoping Thomas found it funny too, and not weird.

“Like I said, I don’t mind.” Thomas smirked before continuing. “Besides, it was comfortable.”

“Yeah…” Newt chuckled nervously again, not sure what else to say. Did Thomas really not mind cuddling with him all night? Maybe he didn’t know Newt was gay? He had only ever come out to his mom, but he’d assumed everyone at school knew, if the comments from Gally and others were any clue.

Newt glanced up and saw that Thomas’ smile had faltered.

“Are you okay?” Concern was starting to leak into Thomas’ eyes again. “After last night...”

Last night seemed more like a dream to Newt than anything else. Everything had seemed so overwhelming then, but he couldn’t remember having cared so little about what other people thought about him as he did right then. Something about crying, about sleeping, or about Thomas had made him realize how little those people really mattered.

“Yeah.” He could see that Thomas wasn’t convinced. “Really. I am. A lot better.”

“Great!” Thomas’ face lit up again. “So, is it time for breakfast?”

Thomas jumped off the bed and stood in the middle of the room, but before Newt could get up, he noticed the sweat pants Thomas was wearing.

“Are those my sweat pants?”

Thomas was definitely blushing this time. Even his ears turned red as he glanced down at the pants he was wearing. “Um. Yeah. Your mom gave them to me.”

“My…mum gave them to you?” Had Newt heard him right?

“Um. Yeah. Last night. She made me dinner and let me borrow something to sleep in.” Thomas was avoiding eye contact, and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Newt was frozen on the bed, staring at Thomas, not knowing what to say. “You…what?”

“It was after you fell asleep, I heard your mom come in downstairs, so I went down to tell her you were asleep. And, you know, to introduce myself.” Thomas awkwardly laughed. “I think she was surprised when I came downstairs.”

“Yeah…” Newt still didn’t know what to say.

“She was really nice. She asked if I was the one who brought you home yesterday, and she thanked me, and she asked how you were doing. I-I told her you were crying earlier, but that you fell asleep. I didn’t want you to wake up alone, so...” Thomas finally looked up, and met Newt’s eyes. “…so I asked her if I could spend the night. She...um. She asked if I meant in bed with you." Thomas looked away again. " I-I said yes, and she said you wouldn't mind. I'm sorry if you did...I-I only wanted to make sure you were okay." He glanced up, but when he caught Newt's eyes, he quickly looked away again. "She said you'd appreciate it, and that she would appreciate it. She...um. She suggested I borrow some pajamas, and she found these in the laundry. They fit, so she let me use them, and I...is that okay?”

Newt finally looked away, focusing on the sweat pants. Was it okay that Thomas wanted to sleep in bed with him? Was it okay that Thomas was wearing his clothes? “Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine.” There was a short silence before Newt blushed and asked, “My mum knows you’re here?”

“She was really nice. She made dinner for me too.” Thomas seemed to be grinning in spite of his best efforts. "She asked if I'd eaten any dinner yet. I said no, and she insisted that I eat with her."

Newt was ready to drop dead of embarrassment right then. Not only did his mom know that his crush had spent the night in his bed, but she had also loaned him some of Newt’s clothes and eaten dinner with him. There was no way she wouldn’t try to convince him that Thomas fancied him now.

“Let’s not talk about that, yeah?”

“Really, she was nice! I swear.” Thomas seemed to have left his embarrassment behind again, something Newt wished he could do too. “Nothing embarrassing happened.” Newt looked up and saw that Thomas was grinning at him again.

Newt rolled his eyes. “I doubt that.” Thomas laughed, and Newt found himself snickering along with him.

They laughed for a while before falling silent. After a bit, Thomas asked again. “So, time for breakfast?”

Newt smiled at Thomas’ excitement at breakfast. “Sure. We can make breakfast now.”


	7. He's Just Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’ve never made pancakes before?” Thomas looked almost concerned at Newt’s lack of worldy experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What?!? A SECOND chapter in one day? What on Earth is going on? Have we fallen into an alternate universe? No. I just had a burst of creative energy is all. I hope you like this chapter too!
> 
> Please make sure you don't skip the previous chapter! And also please comment! I love hearing what you guys have to say! <3

They laughed for a while before falling silent. After a bit, Thomas asked again. “So, time for breakfast?”

Newt smiled at Thomas’ excitement at breakfast. “Sure. We can make breakfast now.”

\--

It was only 7:30 am, so they crept quietly downstairs to the kitchen, closing the door behind them.

“So, what’s for breakfast?” Thomas’ face was still glowing at the thought of breakfast. He glanced around the kitchen, as if looking for pre-prepared food.

“Er…I don’t really know how to make breakfast food.” Newt hadn’t ever made breakfast before. He usually ate toast, or his mom made him breakfast, and he didn’t think toast would go over too well with Thomas.

“What kind of sleepover host are you?” Thomas teased, still grinning. “I can make pancakes?”

“In my kitchen?”

“Sure. Do you have all the things? Flour, sugar, eggs, milk, and butter?”

The concentration on Thomas’ face was adorable, but Newt tried to distract his attention. “Er…yeah. I think so. We should have everything.”

“You’ve never made pancakes before?” Thomas looked almost concerned at Newt’s lack of worldly experience.

“Er…no? I usually just eat toast.”

“Toast?! That’s it?” Thomas put on his best scandalized face. “I’ll teach you. They’re not hard to make. Where are the things?”

Newt showed Thomas where all the ingredients were, and watched him concentrate as he found the measuring cups, a bowl and a large wooden spoon.

“Okay, so first we have to mix all the dry things and melt the butter. Can you do the butter?” Thomas turned and started to mix together the flour and sugar, and Newt found a glass bowl to melt the butter in.

It took them only ten minutes to make the batter, Thomas explaining everything along the way, including a few minutes teaching Newt how to “properly” crack an egg. Newt was proud to say that he hadn't blushed while Thomas had held his hands, showing him how to open the egg after cracking it. ...okay, maybe he'd blushed a little bit.

When they'd finished the batter, it took another few minutes of both of them searching through the kitchen cupboards to find a griddle.

“How can you not know where things are in your own kitchen?” Thomas joked as they looked through every cabinet there was, before finding it in the drawer beneath the oven.

\--

“And if you spread the batter like this…” Thomas showed him how to pour the batter onto the griddle. “…you can make the pancake look like an elephant.” Thomas looked elated with his own genius. “You try!”

Newt couldn’t remember having this much fun for a long time. But here he was, in his own kitchen, at 8 o’clock in the morning, making elephant-shaped pancakes with Thomas. Just two days ago, Thomas was more like a dream than an actual person in Newt’s life, but look where they were now. Laughing together over Newt’s misshapen elephant pancake. Newt probably hadn’t said more than a dozen words to Thomas for the first two years of high school, but now he felt almost comfortable talking to him, even if it was about pancakes. Did this mean they were friends?

\--

“Bloody hell, these are amazing!” Newt was honestly surprised at how good the pancakes were.

“Don’t act too surprised. You might hurt my feelings.” Newt was starting to get used to Thomas teasing him playfully. He only blushed most of the time now. “They’re better than toast, then?”

“Yes, Tommy. They’re better than toast.”

There was a sudden moment of silence, and Newt turned to look at Thomas, to see him looking amused, but bewildered. He tried to remember what he’d said, but before he could, Thomas spoke, holding back a laugh.

“You called me Tommy.”

“Oh. Er…sorry. I-I don’t know why.” How do you save face after calling your crush an embarrassing nickname? Newt was lost.

“I like it.”

“…really?”

“Yeah.” Thomas grinned. “Really, I’m serious. I like it.”

“Okay, then, Tommy.” The name made his tongue tingle, and he felt himself blushing again, but Thomas didn’t seem to notice.

\--

They had almost finished the pancakes by the time Newt’s mom came downstairs at 8:30. She walked in on Thomas laughing hysterically as Newt looked confused.

She smiled seeing Newt so clearly untroubled and happy. This Thomas boy was definitely having a positive effect. “Good morning, boys.”

“Good morning, mum.” Newt’s confusion had definitely become anxiety now that his mom was in the room.

“Good morning, Ms. Isaacs.” Thomas was still chuckling softly from whatever Newt had done.

“I was going to make you two breakfast, but you beat me to it. Pancakes?” She was pretty sure that Newt had no idea how to make pancakes.

“Er…yeah. Tommy made them.” Her eyebrow twitched upward at the nickname.

“Newt helped.” She watched as Newt blushed, and Thomas continued, “I taught him how to make elephant-shaped pancakes. They were adorable.”

“That is adorable.” She smiled gently at Newt, before noticing that they were finished eating. “Can I make you two anything else?”

Newt and Thomas glanced at each other before they answered together. “No thanks. I’m full.”

“Why don’t you two head back upstairs? I’ll clean up here.” She smiled after them as they both got up and left the room, toward the stairs. She laughed silently to herself as she picked up the plates. How Newt didn’t see it she had no idea. This Thomas boy clearly fancied him.

\--

Back upstairs, Newt and Thomas talked for a while, about random things. Doctor Who, Star Trek, whether you could even compare the two (definitely not, argued Newt). They laughed more as Thomas gently teased Newt about his love of Doctor Who and his accent, and Newt even started to tease him back.

At 9:30, Thomas got up off the bed, where they’d been sitting together. “I’m really sorry! I forgot that I promised my mom I’d be home by 10:00.” He ran over to Newt’s desk chair and grabbed his pants, which had been draped over the chair. He turned back to Newt. “Do you mind if I change really quickly?”

“Er…I mean, no. Sure.” Newt knew his face was burning, but he couldn’t get himself to turn away as Thomas pulled down the sweat pants.

“I was wondering if you wanted to do something this weekend?” Thomas was looking right at him, and Newt realized that he had no idea what Thomas had just said.

“Er…sorry?”

Thomas laughed. “I asked if you wanted to do something this weekend? We could see a movie or something?”

Newt had to remind himself it wasn’t a date. “Er…yeah. Good that.”

Thomas grinned widely. “Great!” He finally pulled up his jeans, and buttoned them, before pulling his phone out of his pocket and tossing it to Newt on the bed. “Can you put your number in? I’ll text you later.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Sure.” Newt’s fingers were shaking as he typed his number in. He’d never done this before. Isn’t this what friends did? When he finished, he handed the phone back to Thomas, who smiled at him before grabbing his backpack and making for the door.

Newt followed him downstairs and to the front door. Newt’s mom was sitting in the living room.

“Thanks for letting me stay over, Ms. Isaacs.”

“Of course, Thomas. Newt's friends are always welcome.” She smiled at both of them.

Thomas opened the door to leave and looked back at Newt. “I’ll text you.”

“Yeah. See you later, Tommy.”

Thomas smiled before saying good-bye and leaving. Once the door had closed and Newt walked back into the living room, his mom looked up at him.

“He fancies you.”

“No he doesn’t mum. He’s just nice” But Newt didn’t want to think that was it.

“Of course he is, Newt.”


	8. Dr. Who Marathon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt had to admit it was awesome that his mom was as much a Doctor Who nerd as he was. When he suggested they spend the day on a marathon, she insisted on picking the first episode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a short chapter for you guys! I'm not sure if I like it very much, and I may have written it as a way to avoid writing one (or maybe several) papers for finals. Thank you guys for helping me to procrastinate!
> 
> As always, please comment and let me know what you think! <3

“He fancies you.”

“No he doesn’t mum. He’s just nice” But Newt didn’t want to think that was it.

“Of course he is, Newt.”

\--

Blushing, but still insisting to himself that Thomas was just being nice, Newt went quickly back upstairs and closed the door to his room behind him. He walked over to the bed, fell back on to it, and sighed, thinking about what his life had become in the last two days.

He’d always known that Thomas was genuinely nice, but it really did seem like he’d done a lot for Newt since Thursday. They’d moved from practically strangers, to being…what? Were they friends? Newt wouldn’t know. He didn’t think he had any friends, at least not at school. Gally had made sure of that since Newt’s first day.

Thomas had been one of the only people to be nice to Newt, though. From the beginning, Newt never saw Thomas laugh when Gally made fun of him. Thomas never seemed to notice when people joked that Newt was staring at him, or at least, the jokes didn’t bother him.

Newt had to cringe as he remembered why he’d needed Thomas on Thursday in the first place. He looked over to his desk, where his sketchbook was lying innocently. Thomas didn’t seem to know about the drawings, which Newt would admit was strange. Of course, Thomas sleeping in his bed was strange too, but that had actually happened. But still, why hadn’t anyone told him? Plenty of people knew, didn’t they?

Thinking about this wasn’t doing anything to help his nerves, so he checked his phone for a text from Thomas. He groaned when he saw that it had only been ten minutes since Thomas had left; of course he hadn’t gotten a text yet. You know what he needed? More Doctor Who.

\--

Newt had to admit it was awesome that his mom was as much a Doctor Who nerd as he was. When he suggested they spend the day on a marathon, she insisted on picking the first episode.

They had watched six episodes before he looked at his phone again. When he did, he saw a text from an unknown number:

_Hey Newt, this is Thomas. Do you want to see a movie tonight?_

He must have been staring at the screen for a while, because his mom had to get his attention by throwing a pillow at his head.

“Thomas already?” She was looking at him with a knowing smile.

“Maybe.” Newt’s blush was all the answer she needed.

“I told you, he fancies you. He’s not out of here for half the day, and already he’s texting you. What does he want?”

“He wants to go to a movie.” Newt knew how she was going to respond to that, and tried to head her off. “It’s not a date. He’s got a girlfriend.”

“Really? Are you sure?” His mom looked skeptical.

“Yeah. They’re always together at school.” It was quiet for a moment after that, and Newt tried to type out a response, worrying a bit with every word he wrote. It took him three tries, but he finally was left with:

_Which movie? - N_

Sure, it wasn’t a masterpiece, but at least he wasn’t rambling.

_There’s the new Bond movie? He’s English :P - T_

Newt had really been wanting to see the new Bond movie, and the idea of watching it together with Thomas was too much to resist. It took him a few moments more of agonizing over words:

_Okay. What time? – N_

_I can pick you up at 7:00? The movie is at 9:00, but we can go out to eat first if you want? – T_

The surprise must have shown on his face, because his mom was suddenly pulled up next to him. “What’s wrong?”

“He wants to go out to eat first.” Newt couldn’t even believe his own ears as he said it. He looked over at his mom to see her smiling widely, a gleam in her eye.

“Sounds like a date to me. I told you he fancies you.”

“No, he doesn’t, mum.” But it was getting harder and harder to ignore the tiny glimmer of hope in the back of his head. It did sound a lot like a date.

_Yeah, that sounds nice. – N_

_See you then :) – T_


	9. You'll Muss It Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s not a date. It’s just two friends platonically going to a movie together. And platonically going to dinner together. Very, very platonic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had a merry Christmas/other December holiday! Like earlier in this series, this was going to be just the beginning of a longer chapter, but then I just really like writing Newt and his mom together, so it became its own chapter. That said, there's a long chapter on the way, so expect that (hopefully) in the next few days!
> 
> As always, please comment and let me know what you think! I love getting comments so much!

_Yeah, that sounds nice. – N_

_See you then :) – T_

\--

It’s not a date, Newt reminded himself. It’s _not_ a date. It’s just two friends platonically going to a movie together. And platonically going to dinner together. Very, very platonic.

Newt was lying on his back on his bed, trying to convince himself that Thomas wasn’t interested in him, but it wasn’t working. He groaned, giving up on convincing himself and settling on pretending it was a date. Besides, even if it wasn’t a real date, he was still going out together with Thomas, and he still wanted to avoid any embarrassment, which for him was probably a tall order.

He groaned and pulled himself off his bed and looked at himself in the mirror. He wanted to look good, even if this wasn’t going to be a date, but he hadn’t ever really thought of himself as handsome. He stared at himself from a few more angles, and tried to figure out what to do with his hair, before moving into the bathroom to take a shower.

\--

After he’d showered, Newt must have been in front of the mirror for twenty minutes, trying to do something to style his hair. He’d never styled his hair before, so he didn’t really know what he was doing, which was becoming more and more apparent the more he tried. After twenty minutes, it looked terrible; even worse than his usual messed up “style”.

As he stared at his hair in the mirror, he contemplated cutting it all off, before his mom knocked softly on the door and came into the room. She took one look at him in the mirror and smiled gently.

“Do you need some help with your hair?”

“I already tried doing something with it for twenty minutes, and it just looks worse now than when I started. And haven’t I only got twenty minutes left before…he gets here?” Newt purposely avoided saying Thomas’ name. Maybe he’d be less nervous if he didn’t think about it?

“It’s okay, Newt. Just let me…” His mom quickly stroked her hand through his hair a few times. “Did you want something special, or can I just fix it how I like?” She smirked at him cheekily.

“Yeah. Just do that. Anything is better than this.”

A few more strokes and Newt was shocked to see his hair swept stylishly to the side. His confused face must have been amusing, because his mom was chuckling as he reached up to touch his head, before being gently swatted away.

“Don’t fidget with it, Newt, you’ll muss it up!”

“Sorry. But how did you do that?” Newt was still surprised. He hadn’t known his hair could be so easily wrangled in.

His mom only smiled. “Let’s get you dressed, shall we?”

\--

Back in his room, Newt was staring into his closet, with no idea what to wear. He hadn’t asked Thomas how formal he should dress, even though it probably would have been a weird question to ask.

They were going to a movie, so clearly a dress shirt and tie was too much. But they were also going to dinner, so a t-shirt probably wasn’t quite enough. What did that leave? He could feel the nervousness creeping back before his mom spoke up again.

“Why don’t you wear this grey sweater?” She pulled a sweater off one of the hangers and held it up to Newt’s frame. “Maybe with a plaid shirt over it?”

Newt must have had nearly four thousand plaid button-down shirts in his closet, so that wasn’t much help. “Good that, but what colour?”

“Try one of the light blues. They’ll complement your hair.” His mom reached into the closet again and drew out a blue and white plaid button-down shirt.

“Complement my hair?” Newt was definitely confused now, and a bit self-conscious about his hair.

“Just put the things on. And mind your hair, so we won’t have to fix it again.” Newt could tell she was enjoying fussing over him.

Newt quickly but carefully pulled on the sweater and the shirt, leaving it unbuttoned, and then pulled on a pair of slightly-nicer-than-normal jeans that his mom had pulled from one his drawers. Once he had, he turned to look at himself in the mirror as his mom fixed his hair a bit before giving him hug from the side.

“You look so handsome, Newt.” She was smiling warmly at him, looking as proud as could be.

As Newt looked at himself, he started to blush, as he had to admit that he did indeed look handsome. His mom clearly knew what she was doing. He was no Thomas, of course, but maybe he wasn’t as hopeless as he usually felt?

“Thomas will be absolutely mad for you.” She was laughing again, and Newt didn’t even try to argue about how Thomas felt about him.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you guys were wondering what Newt would look like in the clothes I was describing, I was basing it on this photo (which, obviously, I don't own).


	10. Not-Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why are you blushing so much?” Thomas seemed genuinely interested, but Newt didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he blushed even more.
> 
> “I...I didn’t know I was.” Newt was a liar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a safe/fun New Year's Eve, and that you're all ready for a fantastic 2016! Here's a bit of a longer chapter of their not-date (or is it?). Sorry in advance for the homophobia/meanness that is present in this chapter. I hope you like it anyways!
> 
> As always, please leave a comment to let me know what you think!

“Thomas will be absolutely mad for you.” She was laughing again, and Newt didn’t even try to argue about how Thomas felt about him.

\--

Instead of arguing, Newt only blushed. He looked up at himself in the mirror again and felt butterflies in his stomach. He wasn’t so bad-looking. Maybe Thomas might notice? Maybe his mom was right? Thomas did ask him to dinner…

Before he could think about his situation too hard, there was a knock at the front door, and he was a bundle of nerves all over again. He heard his mom answer the door, and looked at himself again in the mirror, as he whispered softly to himself. “Think positive, Newt. Think positive.”

As he started down the stairs, he heard Thomas talking in the living room, and started fidgeting with his hands, nervous about what Thomas would be wearing, and what he’d think of his own clothes.

As he got to the bottom of the stairs, Thomas turned toward him, and Newt suddenly felt much less handsome. If Thomas was usually attractive, he was shucking gorgeous right now. His hair was perfectly styled, and his eyes were shining as he grinned widely. Newt smiled when he saw that Thomas was wearing a plaid shirt too, red and dark blue over a white shirt, with dark blue jeans.

“Wow, Newt, you look great! I like the new hairstyle.” Thomas was still beaming at him, and Newt couldn’t help but blush.

“Thanks.” Newt wanted to say more, to compliment Thomas, tell him how handsome he looked, but in the back of his head, he was afraid it would make Thomas uncomfortable. He didn’t want to do anything to mess up his night with Thomas.

“Are you ready to go, then?” Thomas was still beaming at him, his eyes practically sparkling as Newt glanced up at the sound of his voice.

“Yeah.” Apparently, Newt wasn’t capable of speaking in complete sentences around Thomas.

As they moved towards the door, his mom called after them happily. “Have fun, boys!”

\--

When they got into the car, Newt glanced over at Thomas and blushed when he saw that Thomas was still smiling brightly at him. He glanced down at his hands as Thomas spoke up.

“So, I was thinking we could get Mexican? Or maybe Thai? Unless you wanted something else?”

“I…er. I like Indian? But really I don’t mind where, if you want Mexican, or…”

“We’ll get Indian, then.” Thomas smiled at him again, and Newt could tell that he was still blushing.

\--

The ride to the restaurant was quiet, and Newt was pretty sure he spent the entire time blushing, because every time he looked up or glanced at Thomas, he would glance over too, and be grinning or even smirking back.

\--

Walking into the restaurant together, Newt realized that everyone else probably assumed he and Thomas were on a date, and he had no idea how to feel about that. I mean, he sort of thought they were on a date too, but he was allowed to fantasize about that. But other people thinking he and Thomas were together? That was a bit too much.

As they were sitting at their table (after the hostess had practically winked at them when Thomas asked for a table for two), Newt finally got his blush under control. Now he could distract himself with thinking about what to order.

He was about to ask if Thomas had ever had Indian food before, when he looked up and saw that Thomas was looking at him with the most adorable curious face ever. Newt’s blush came back instantly.

“Why are you blushing so much?” Thomas seemed genuinely interested, but Newt didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he blushed even more.

“I...I didn’t know I was.” Newt was a liar.

“Well, it’s endearing.” Thomas was grinning again.

“…endearing?”

“Yeah. It’s cute.”

It took Newt a few seconds to really hear that. Sure, Thomas didn’t mean it like Newt wanted him to, but it still made Newt’s stomach do flips. Thomas said he was _cute_! He was blushing even harder now, he was sure. He might even have said something about it before their waiter walked up to their table and ruined everything. It was Gally.

“How shucking cute.” Newt felt the sarcasm in his voice practically burn, and he cringed at it. Gally looked at Thomas before continuing. “You know he thinks this is a date, don’t you?”

Before Newt could even react, Thomas was ready with a response.

“Yeah? And what if it is?” Thomas reached over the table and clasped Newt’s hand in his own. Newt couldn’t breathe and suddenly had no idea what was going on, as he stared at Thomas’ right hand gently squeezing his left.

When he finally looked up, Gally was gone, and Thomas was looking at him with the same look of concern that Newt was starting to get used to. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Newt was still breathless.

“I’m sorry that happened. I’m going to talk to the manager to get us a new waiter, okay? I don’t want Gally harassing us all night.”

As Thomas let go of his hand and got up from the table, Newt couldn’t stop himself from asking: “Wait! Wait…did…did you mean what you said? Is this a date?” Newt would have kicked himself for sounding so desperate if he hadn’t gotten a response so quickly.

“Do you want it to be?” Thomas looked surprised.

Newt only blushed and hesitated before nodding gently.

“Then it can be.” Thomas smiled at him widely before leaving the table.

Newt only blushed harder when he was alone. His mom had been right; this was a date after all, then. He was happy, and excited, and even more nervous now that he was sure. But…what about Teresa? Newt felt his happiness falter. How could Thomas go on a date with him when he had a girlfriend? Unless it was a pity date…?

“All alone now?” Gally’s angry voice split Newt’s thoughts in two. “Too bad.” When Newt looked up, Gally was glaring at him. “You’re shucking disgusting, fawning over him. You know he doesn’t care about you, right? You’re just pathetic. He feels bad for you, but I don’t see why.”

Newt was starting to cry. He’d mostly gotten used to Gally yelling “queer” after him at school, but this? He’d never been this cruel or direct before, and Newt couldn’t get himself to say anything.

“See how shucking pathetic you are? Crying like a little girl. No wonder you don’t have any friends.”

Newt burst into tears. He had been so happy for a moment, thinking Thomas had actually asked him out, but Gally was right. Of course he was right. Newt didn’t have any friends, and he’d been deluded to think that Thomas might be one. How could he have been so stupid, to let himself be happy for once? He should have known he didn’t deserve it.

“What the hell, Gally? What’s wrong with you?”

Suddenly, Thomas was back, and then he was talking to Newt, but Newt didn’t hear anything he said. Then, he was touching Newt, lifting him out of the booth, and then they were outside the restaurant, and then in the back seat of Thomas’ car. Thomas was there with him, holding him, and talking, but Newt still didn’t hear him. Newt only saw his life in front of him: loneliness, depression, hope that someone might care about him, and Gally’s words repeated themselves in his mind. He was pathetic. Disgusting. Alone.

But Thomas was there, holding him close. Knowing that, he didn’t feel so alone.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize again for making Newt's life so difficult. I promise it'll get better for him from now on.
> 
> In case you're wondering what my image of Thomas was when writing this, the above picture is what I used (I also do not own this photo). Hopefully this photo also serves to cheer you up a bit :)


	11. Do You Want Me to Hold You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they finally pulled into the driveway, Thomas turned off the engine and looked over at Newt. Newt thought it looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, he got out of the car and came around to the passenger’s side, opening the door and holding Newt’s hand as they walked up to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! This is a longer chapter (I think it's the longest apart from the first one), and I really hope you like it, especially the ending :P
> 
> As always, please comment! I love the comments you guys leave, and even if I don't respond, I promise that I do read (and maybe squeal happily) at all of them!

Thomas was there with him, holding him, and talking, but Newt still didn’t hear him. Newt only saw his life in front of him: loneliness, depression, hope that someone might care about him, and Gally’s words repeated themselves in his mind. He was pathetic. Disgusting. Alone.

But Thomas was there, holding him close. Knowing that, he didn’t feel so alone.

\--

Newt didn’t know how long it had been, but when he could finally think straight, Thomas was still holding him, gently rubbing his back, and softly whispering in his ear.

“It’s okay, Newt. It’s okay now. I’ve got you.”

Newt took a few more minutes to calm down, still in Thomas’ arms and still listening to Thomas whispering gently in his ear. When he finally opened his eyes, Thomas gently let him go and brushed his hair away from his face, to look into his eyes. He was still talking softly.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

Newt nodded slowly. “I’m sorry.”

Thomas almost looked offended. “No, don’t be sorry, Newt.” He gently pulled Newt into a hug. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I let this happen to you.”

As they were hugging, Newt realized how safe he felt in Thomas’ arms, how secure. As Thomas gently pulled away from the hug, Newt started to panic at the thought of feeling alone again. He glanced up into Thomas’ eyes and then looked away. Before he could stop himself, he quietly, desperately asked Thomas.

“Will…will you stay with me?” Newt understood his words before Thomas could respond, and he hated how desperate they made him sound. “I…I mean…I don’t want…” Newt was trying to explain why he wanted Thomas to stay, but he couldn’t put his fears into words.

But before Newt could panic again, Thomas interrupted his thoughts. “You want me to stay with you again tonight?” Newt couldn’t tell if his tone was one of confusion or disgust, but Thomas spoke again before Newt could ask. “Of course I can.” Thomas gently brushed another bit of hair out of Newt’s face before trailing his hand down the side of Newt’s face. It was over quickly, but it left a tingling feeling down his entire face, before Thomas pulled him into another quick hug and then took his hands.

“Let’s go now, then?” Thomas opened the door behind him and slowly pulled Newt out and opened the passenger door for him, closing it after Newt got in.

Even the few seconds that Thomas was walking around the car, Newt started to feel vulnerable again. He was relieved when Thomas finally got in and started the engine.

\--

The ride back to the house was silent, while Newt switched between staring at his hands and at the dashboard, even though he could see Thomas glancing over at him in the corner of his eye.

When they finally pulled into the driveway, Thomas turned off the engine and looked over at Newt. Newt thought it looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, he got out of the car and came around to the passenger’s side, opening the door and holding Newt’s hand as they walked up to the house.

When they got inside, Newt didn’t know what to do. Should he talk to his mom, tell her that Thomas was staying over again? Then he would need to tell her why, and he didn’t think he could manage that. But he wasn’t sure if he could just take Thomas straight to his room…

“Hey, do you want to go to your room? I can talk to your mom, if you want?”

“Yeah…yeah, okay.” Newt started toward the stairs, and Thomas called gently after him.

“I’ll be right up, okay?”

\--

When Newt got to his room, he closed the door behind him and suddenly didn’t know what to do with himself. Should he be waiting for Thomas in bed? Should he get into his pajamas? How were they even going to sleep together? They had been cuddling last night, or Newt had, at least, but what about tonight?

Newt slowly took off his plaid shirt and fidgeted with one of the buttons. He started worrying about Thomas talking with his mom downstairs. What would he say to her? Would his mom be okay with him spending two nights in a row? Would she think they were…you know… _sleeping_ together? He suddenly felt much more nervous.

He took off his sweater and glanced at himself in the mirror as he slowly undid his belt to take off his pants, but he looked away quickly. His hair was messed up, and his eyes were red from crying. He remembered only a few hours ago thinking he might be handsome, and now he felt like he must have been delusional.

He glanced up again to look at himself in the mirror, but it only made him feel worse. Newt hated looking at himself shirtless. When he did, all he could think of was how Thomas looked shirtless in the school locker rooms, and how he didn’t look at all the same. He was thin and pale, and he felt unattractive.

He turned away from the mirror and got his pajamas out of a drawer and quickly put them on before climbing in bed, just seconds before there was a quiet knock on the door, and Thomas slipped in.

“I talked to your mom. She says it’s okay for me to stay.” Thomas was talking softly, but still hovering around the door, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to come in.

“Thanks.” Newt’s voice was hoarse, and he wasn’t looking at Thomas as he spoke.

“No problem.” Thomas glanced around the room until he noticed the sweatpants he had borrowed the night before were still draped over the chair. “Is it okay if I borrow these again? I don’t have anything to sleep in.”

Normally, Newt might blush at the possible meanings of a sentence like that, but instead he just nodded a quick yes before Thomas continued.

“Do you, um, have a shirt I can borrow?” Thomas seemed to understand just how awkward that question was for Newt, because he was looking away from Newt and rubbing the back of his neck as he asked.

It took a moment for Newt to answer. “Er…yeah. In the closet.”

Thomas opened the closet and hesitated before pulling one of the shirts out and holding it up for Newt to see. “Is this one okay? It should fit.”

Newt only nodded without really looking at the shirt.

\--

Newt really should have expected what happened next, but for some reason, it came as a surprise to see Thomas start to take off his clothes there in front of him. Thomas took off his plaid shirt and draped it over the back of the chair before, to Newt’s awe, slipping off his white shirt.

For a few seconds, Newt was frozen with a perfect view of Thomas’ body. He wasn’t pale or skinny like Newt; he was tanned and athletic. Newt was mostly staring at his abs as he undid his belt, but when Thomas started to pull his pants off, Newt turned on his side in bed, looking away and curling up, feeling as unattractive as ever, thinking of how terrible he looked compared to Thomas.

Once Newt turned away, it was only another minute before he felt Thomas climb into bed behind him and settle under the covers. After a minute of awkward silence, Thomas moved closer to Newt.

“Are you okay?” Newt could hear the concern in his voice.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.” But he wasn’t really. Thomas was there with him, but he still felt alone. He wanted Thomas’ arms around him, but he knew it would be a weird thing to ask.

“…do you want me to hold you?”

“Er...I…I…” Newt didn’t know what to say.

Suddenly, Newt felt Thomas’ left arm reaching over him, and Thomas moving in right behind him. They were spooning, Newt realized. Thomas’ arm was around his waist, and his head was nuzzled gently into the back of Newt’s neck.

Newt felt a wave of contentment and safety fill him up, and he relaxed back into Thomas as he felt Thomas' arm tighten around his waist.

“Is this okay?” Thomas’ voice was quiet, and right next to Newt’s ear.

“Yeah.” Newt answered. “Yeah.”

Neither of them moved for a few minutes, until Newt whispered again. “Thank you.”

Thomas didn’t respond. He only squeezed Newt gently in a hug before Newt drifted into sleep.

\--


	12. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yeah, Tommy; it’s nearly 9 o’clock.” Not feeling Thomas’ grip on his hand loosen, Newt shyly added, “Er…can I get my fingers back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends, it's been a while (like a whole month)! Here's another chapter of fluffy cuteness for you. Full disclosure: I am not now, nor was I during the writing of this chapter, adequately rested. Please excuse any weirdities (see what I mean? I can't English right now) you may encounter.
> 
> Please leave a comment! If you do I will love you forever and ever (which I also will do if you don't leave a comment, but you still should leave a comment)! Also please check the end of the chapter for a super important note!

“Is this okay?” Thomas’ voice was quiet, and right next to Newt’s ear.

“Yeah.” Newt answered. “Yeah.”

Neither of them moved for a few minutes, until Newt whispered again. “Thank you.”

Thomas didn’t respond. He only squeezed Newt gently in a hug before Newt drifted into sleep.

\--

When Newt woke up, it was into a dream come true. He felt like Thomas was wrapped around him completely, and couldn’t remember feeling safer waking up.

Thomas’ left arm was draped around his waist, with his hand against Newt’s chest, holding them tightly together. He could feel Thomas’ torso pressed against his back, with one of Thomas’ legs peacefully tucked between his own. He could feel Thomas breathing slowly and heavily, tickling the back of his neck.

It only took a few seconds before Newt blushed. He had no idea what to do. Should he wait for Thomas to wake up? That’s what Thomas did, right? But how long would that be? And what if he got…you know… _aroused_?

Suddenly, after thinking about it, he felt remarkably less comfortable in Thomas’s arms. He felt himself getting harder, and started to fidget, trying to distract himself or distance himself from Thomas. It didn’t work.

As he was trying to move inconspicuously away, and out of Thomas’ grip, Thomas gently pulled him back, still breathing deeply and asleep. Not wanting Thomas to wake up and find him aroused and fidgeting, Newt froze and closed his eyes, waiting as Thomas slowly started to stir behind him. He was starting to see how awkward it must have been for Thomas yesterday morning, especially with Newt cuddling up to him.

Unless Thomas was interested in him, like his mom insisted, and he wanted to believe? Newt mentally shook himself, because those thoughts were _not_ helping his…situation down there.

\--

Newt tried to stay still as Thomas woke up, but as Thomas slowly woke up behind him, he kept inching closer up to Newt, adjusting his arm over Newt’s waist, and nuzzling closer into the back of Newt’s neck.

It only took a minute for Newt’s resolve to break. “Tommy?” Newt was surprised to hear himself use the nickname, but even more surprised that he hadn’t flinched when he had.

Thomas only grunted softly.

“Tommy? Wake up.”

“But your bed is so comfy.” Thomas’ voice was muffled, but Newt could feel the words brushing up against his neck. He wanted to think that maybe the bed wasn’t the only reason Thomas was comfortable, but, well…no reason for wishful thinking, right?

Thomas wasn’t moving himself, so Newt started to pull Thomas’ hand off his chest, only for Thomas to hold his hand tightly and bring them together back to Newt’s chest.

“Do we have to get up, Newt?” Thomas’ voice had an almost whimpering quality to it, and Newt suddenly was imagining Thomas as an adorable puppy; he could even see Thomas making puppy dog eyes as a last resort.

“Yeah, Tommy; it’s nearly 9 o’clock.” Not feeling Thomas’ grip on his hand loosen, Newt shyly added, “Er…can I get my fingers back?”

Either Thomas hesitated, or he wasn’t fully awake, because it took a few seconds before he let go of Newt’s hand, and Newt would have sworn that he felt Thomas’s thumb stroke his fingers before he did. It lasted just long enough for Newt to notice, but was just short enough for Newt to wonder if he’d imagined it. Either way, Newt felt his fingers tingling as Thomas pulled his arm away from him and turned over, onto his back.

Newt sat up, flipping his legs over the side of the bed, and got up. Looking back at Thomas, he felt his heart speed up; his eyes closed, and with an adorable sleepy face, looking as handsome as ever, Thomas was pulling the covers over himself, trying to make himself comfortable in _Newt’s bed_. Newt didn’t think he’d get over it even if he were to wake up like this every day for a year.

For the first time, he glanced down and saw the shirt that Thomas had borrowed for the night. It was one of Newt’s generic old Doctor Who shirts, and it was too small for him. Not that that was surprising. After all, Thomas wasn’t as skinny as Newt, so him, you know, wearing one of Newt’s shirts, essentially guaranteed that it would be tight around the chest area.

Speaking of which, Thomas’ chest area looked good in the shirt. Really good. Well, all of Thomas looked good in the shirt, not just his chest. Though that probably had more to do with Thomas than the shirt, Newt supposed. After all, Thomas had also looked really good last night without any shirt on at all, hadn’t he? But that probably wasn’t the safest thing to think about right now.

“Tommy, get up.” Newt was smiling at how easily the words came out now.

“Why?” The puppy dog voice was back.

A good question. Newt would probably have asked the same thing if he had still been in bed. What had gotten Thomas out of bed yesterday?

“The sooner you get up, the sooner we get breakfast.”

Thomas was definitely awake now. “Breakfast? I’m up!” He was beaming at Newt, clearly exaggerating, but obviously still excited. “I just need to change first.” He glanced around the room to find his clothes from last night.

Knowing that more shirtless Thomas was coming, Newt blushed and forced himself to leave the room. “I’ll be downstairs. Just come down after, yeah?”

Thomas smiled happily at him, already starting to pull off his shirt. “Okay.”

Closing the door behind him, Newt made for the stairs. His mom would probably already be awake…yeah. When he got to the top of the stairs, he could hear her washing dishes in the kitchen. Walking down the stairs, he tried to guess how worried she’d be, and tried to decide how to explain Thomas’ staying over. He had no idea what Thomas had told her last night.

“Deep breaths, Newt. Why are you so nervous?” He thought to himself.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I was thinking about writing this whole story from Thomas' point of view, from the beginning, and calling it The Best Day of His Life (sorry for possible spoiler here, but I think we all know where this story is going). What do you guys think of that idea? (Like I said above, I am currently functioning on, like, negative amounts of sleep, so let me know if you think it's a good idea or crazy) :P
> 
> Get your sleep, everyone (I know that's what I'll be doing for the next two weeks)!
> 
> EDIT: I just now noticed that I make excessive parenthetical comments when I'm sleep deprived. TIL!


	13. Morning After with Mum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What…what did he say?”
> 
> “What did who say?” She was feigning innocence. She had always been good at distracting Newt from his problems, but he wasn’t going to let her get away with it this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm happy to announce that I'm now only marginally sleep-deprived!
> 
> So, I guess it's become a common theme here that whenever I try to incorporate Newt's mom into a scene, it just gets elongated to the point that it deserves full chapterhood. Maybe I should just start planning on having full chapters devoted to her relationship with Newt? :P
> 
> That said, I hope you all love this chapter, because I really do! As always, please leave a comment! I promise I read all of them, and cherish them all like little Swiss chocolates! (Sorry, couldn't think of anything else to cherish).

Walking down the stairs, he tried to guess how worried she’d be, and tried to decide how to explain Thomas’ staying over. He had no idea what Thomas had told her last night.

“Deep breaths, Newt. Why are you so nervous?” He thought to himself.

\--

Standing outside the kitchen door, he stopped himself, and tried to figure out why he was so nervous. The more he thought about it, the more he was worried his mom would think he and Thomas were doing more than just sleeping, and for some reason, he needed her to know that they weren’t. She’d always trusted him, and he felt like he would be violating that trust if she thought he was lying to have Thomas spend the night. He took a deep breath and turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs.

As he came into the kitchen, his mom was across the room, with her back to the door, sipping at a steaming cup of tea while she flipped lazily through the newspaper. There were clean skillets on the stove, and the egg carton was on the counter, and Newt realized that she was probably waiting to make them breakfast. He swallowed nervously. That was a good sign, right? Still anxious, he softly closed the door behind him as his mom turned around.

For some reason, Newt was suddenly ridiculously embarrassed. He could only look at his feet as he practically whispered a “Morning, mum.”

“Good morning, Newt.” Newt glanced up at her as she came towards him across the room. She was smiling widely at him, and was quick to pull him into a tight hug. Shocked for a second, but then wondering why, he finally hugged her gently back, before she pulled back and rested her hands on his shoulders. “How are you feeling?” She looked hopeful but anxious.

He wasn’t sure how to answer. He definitely felt better today than he had last night, but he still felt confused. “Better.” But it was clear that she was hoping for more details. “Really, mum, I swear. I feel better. Last night…I don’t know. I felt lonely, and helpless, and tired…of everything.”

She only kept looking at him, waiting for him to continue. Newt hesitated. “Now, I’m nervous, I think?”

“Why?” Her eyes crinkled up as she smiled up at him, gently rubbing his shoulders.

“I…mum, Tommy and I…we’re not sleeping together.” She looked surprised, and crooked her eyebrows up, but Newt was desperate for her to understand. He started to ramble. “I mean, we…we’ve slept together, we just…we haven’t…you know…”

She was smiling at him, which was so confusing. Was she listening? He really, really needed her to know this, but she only pulled him into another hug. “I know, Newt.”

Newt almost didn’t hear her. “I just…I just don’t want you to think that we-“

“I know, Newt.” Her voice was so close to his ear, it reminded him of Thomas whispering in his ear last night…but then her words reached him, and he jerkily pulled out of the hug, and stared into his mom’s smiling eyes.

“You know?” What did that mean?

“Newt, I love you, and I trust you.” She squeezed his shoulders, and then moved her right hand up to rest against his face while she looked into his eyes. “I believe you, and I know it’s important to you, but you don’t have to stress about it, okay? I know.”

Looking into her eyes, Newt felt suddenly much more at ease. Of course his mom wouldn’t assume he was lying to be able to have sex. He would have said he had no idea why he was so nervous if he hadn’t been absolutely sure it had something to do with Thomas wanting to spoon with him all night. Just thinking about it brought back his blush, which seemed to put his mom at ease. She pinched his cheek gently before casually saying, as she turned around and walked back over to her tea, “That, and Thomas spent absolute _ages_ last night trying to convince me he wasn’t trying to sleep with you.” She glanced back at him to wink before sipping more of her tea.

Newt was speechless, and he could feel his entire body heat up uncomfortably as he was blushing harder than ever.

“So, will Thomas be down? I can start on eggs for breakfast?” She was as casual as ever, but her intentions were clear from the devilish smirk she was giving Newt from the corner of her mouth.

“What…what did he say?”

“What did who say?” She was feigning innocence. She had always been good at distracting Newt from his problems, but he wasn’t going to let her get away with it this time.

“Mum! What did he say?”

She was a bit more serious as she turned slightly toward him, but she was still smiling. “He said what’d happened, and how he thought you were feeling. He said you’d asked if he would stay with you, and as I said, he was absolutely desperate that I not think he was trying to…I think he said ‘take advantage’ of you.”

“Mum!”

“What? Those were his words! I swear.” She was definitely enjoying herself, Newt thought. She was almost giggling to herself at his embarrassment. “He was so polite, asking my permission to stay over again, as if he were some terrible burden.”

Newt couldn’t help but grin. He could imagine that side of Thomas. Ever the gentleman, and thinking of everyone else.

“He’s a nice young man, and he really cares about you, a lot.” She looked at Newt pointedly, and he only looked away, still blushing and smiling.

“Mum…”

She turned back toward the stove and cracked an egg into one of the skillets, before whispering, loudly enough for Newt to easily hear, “And of course he’s ridiculously handsome.”

Newt was horrified with embarrassment, recognizing the words he had used to describe Thomas to his mom a few weeks earlier. “Mum!”

Newt was about to respond with enough cheek to make up for the whole embarrassing conversation, but before he could, his mom turned back towards him, glanced at the door behind him and said, probably more loudly than necessary, while beaming genuinely, “Good morning Thomas!”

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so you guys all were super into me doing Thomas' point of view for this story, which I'm really excited to work on! Hopefully you guys can expect to see that starting here in the next few weeks!


	14. What Happened on Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Eggs and toast with beans are Newt’s favourite breakfast.”
> 
> “Beans for breakfast?” Thomas turned to look at Newt, grinning. “How English.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first of all, sorry for the ridiculously long time since I last updated, I just kept not being totally satisfied with this chapter, so I rewrote it like 5 or 6 times. But I'm pretty happy with it now, so that's good. Secondly, this is BY FAR the longest chapter so far in this series so bear with me for that, and please don't expect them all to be this long from now on, because that's a lot of pressure :P
> 
> Thirdly, I want to thank you guys for the nice comments you post. They're super encouraging and I love to see that I got a new comment, and I love reading them, so please comment at will :)

Newt was about to respond with enough cheek to make up for the whole embarrassing conversation, but before he could, his mom turned back towards him, glanced at the door behind him and said, probably more loudly than necessary, while beaming genuinely, “Good morning, Thomas!”

\--

Before Newt could turn around, Thomas came up behind him, gently squeezed his right shoulder, and brightly responded, “Good morning, Ms. Isaacs!”

Newt watched him, as Thomas let go of his shoulder and walked over to the kitchen island. He took the second chair from the door, looked back toward Newt, smiled, and pulled out the first chair.

Shyly, Newt walked over and sat next to him, fidgeting with his hands under the counter as his mom spoke.

“I hope you like fried eggs, Thomas?” She had turned back toward the stove, and was speaking as she broke another egg into the skillet.

“Yeah! I love them.”

“Eggs and toast with beans are Newt’s favourite breakfast.”

“Beans for breakfast?” Thomas turned to look at Newt, grinning. “How English.”

Newt looked down at his hands in his lap and blushed. “It’s good.” He knew Thomas was only teasing him, but he couldn’t help feeling like it would gross him out, like it did most Americans. He felt vulnerable, having Thomas about to judge his favorite breakfast.

“I’ve never tried it, but I believe you.”

Newt could tell Thomas was smiling at him, but he didn’t look up from his lap, and he kept fidgeting with his hands through a few minutes of awkward silence before Thomas gently bumped his elbow against Newt’s.

“Are you okay?” He sounded worried, so Newt finally looked over at him, and did his best to smile, even though it was probably awkward and weak.

“Yeah, definitely.”

Thomas gave him a reassuring smile, and Newt could have sworn his eyes were sparkling. Newt looked away just as his mom spoke up again, plopping steaming plates of eggs, toast, and baked beans in front of them.

“Bon appétit, boys!”

\--

“Okay, I think I see it now.” They were walking up the stairs back to Newt’s room after breakfast. The conversation in the kitchen had mostly been about the weather, in what Newt supposed was pretty stereotypical English fashion, (better that than his mom telling embarrassing stories about him as a baby, right?) but now Thomas seemed thoughtful. “The beans go well with the toast. Better than I expected.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

When they got back into his room, Newt hesitated for a second before closing the door. He didn't want Thomas to feel like he was trying to lock them in together or something, but he preferred the feeling of privacy from the closed door.

Thomas had gone over to the bed, and was sitting on the edge, so after a moment’s hesitation, Newt went over and sat next to him, making sure there was enough space between them to keep everything not-awkward, but as soon as he'd sat down, Thomas seemed to move closer to him, so they were almost touching.

“Newt?” Thomas had turned to face him, with only a few inches between them.

“Yeah?” Newt heard himself swallow nervously, and felt his body start to tingle. Something about Thomas' tone was making him anxious.

“…Are you okay? I mean, I know things probably aren’t going fantastically, but the last few days…are you doing better now?” Thomas didn’t seem to know what to say, but Newt wasn’t sure if that was comforting or unnerving. He looked down at his hands, to avoid making eye contact.

“I…I think so. The last few days've been hard, yeah, but…but I’m definitely doing better now.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you. For helping me. For sl…sleeping with me.” He flinched a little at the end, as he caught himself too late to change his word choice.

“What are friends for?” Thomas reached out and slowly rubbed Newt’s back as he spoke.

“So…so we’re friends, then?” Newt knew it was a lame and desperate question, but part of him needed to hear the answer.

“Of course we are. We have slept together twice now, after all. That would put us ahead of most friends.” Thomas laughed softly, but Newt wouldn’t know. He didn’t really have any friends, at least not until now?

Thomas kept rubbing Newt’s back softly for a while before he got up off the bed, and walked to the door. “I’ll be back in a minute, okay? Nature calls. Thomas smiled at him as he left the room.

\--

Almost as soon as Thomas had left the room, Newt heard a loud ping from his desk. He didn’t recognize the sound, so he got up to check it out, when it was followed by a second ping. It was a phone, except it wasn’t Newt’s. Before he could think about it, he looked at the screen, which lit up with a third ping.

_Are you going to invite him? – Teresa_

_If he’s a friend of yours, he’s welcome. But you know that. – Teresa_

_I think you should ask him. I want to meet him! And everyone loves cookies! – Teresa_

Newt wondered who they were talking about, but he didn’t have to wait long to find out. A fourth ping lit up the screen again.

_I assume he likes cookies. I haven’t ever really talked with him. He seems really shy, but I’m proud of you for getting to know him. We really should have done it a long time ago. No one deserves to be treated the way Gally treats him. God. I really want to punch Gally in the face sometimes. Fuck Gally. Why did I even mention him? He pisses me off so much. Poor Newt, having to deal with his shit. And fuck us for not doing anything about it sooner. Are we bad people? Well, I think I am, considering how long this text is. God Teresa, it’s a text not a novel. Okay, /endrant. – Teresa_

Newt suddenly felt terrible for reading the messages. Thomas just said they were friends, and the first thing Newt goes and does is invade his privacy? What kind of friend does that? Newt noticed his sketchbook on the desk next to Thomas’ phone, and realized he was the kind of friend that would draw pictures of their best and only friend and not tell them. He picked up the book and sat back down on his bed, just as Thomas knocked quietly and came back into the room.

Just as he walked in the door, his phone pinged again with the “unread” messages, so he stepped over and grabbed it to read them. It took him a few seconds, while Newt sat uncomfortably on the bed, fidgeting with his sketchbook. He needed to tell Thomas about the drawings. It was a miracle he hadn’t heard about them yet.

“Tommy?” Newt swallowed hard to try to rally his confidence.

“What’s up?” Thomas dropped his phone back in the desk, and came back to sit on the bed with Newt, but Newt purposely moved further from him before continuing.

“I…I wanted to tell you what happened on Thursday.” Thomas’ eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything. “Gally was…he..." Newt looked away from Thomas and swallowed before he tried again. "We were in English class, and he…he took my sketchbook to show the rest of the class.”

Thomas seemed confused. “Why?”

“I…I drew it without thinking. It just…it was just there at the end of class, I swear. I didn’t mean to draw it.” Newt could feel his heart about to break through his ribs as he slowly gave the pad to Thomas.

Thomas seemed confused, but he opened the pad, and on the first page, there he was, staring back at himself: the drawing from English class. Newt had ended up fixing some of the shading since then, but it was otherwise the same drawing that Gally had originally seen in class. Thomas’ face seemed to have frozen looking at it, but his hand moved up to touch the drawing, stopping just short of the page.

“I’m sorry. I…” Newt didn’t know what to say. He just wanted Thomas to say something, and to not hate him.

“Newt..."

This was it, Newt realized. This was when Thomas would remind him about Teresa and how they would never be together.

"... this is amazing. You drew this?” Thomas turned to face him, with a look of awe.

“Er…yeah? I…I sort of…did it.”

“It’s amazing.” Thomas still looked awestruck.

“Really? You…you don’t think it’s weird?” Newt was still waiting for a rejection, but none came.

“No, it’s…it’s flattering. You…how did you do the shading?” Thomas was starting to tilt the drawing to look at it from different angles.

“It takes practice, but it’s not hard after a while.” Newt was starting to blush. He never thought he’d be explaining his drawing technique with Thomas, as they looked at a drawing of Thomas himself.

“This is what Gally was making fun of?” Thomas still seemed vaguely confused.

“Yeah, he…er…he thought it was weird, and he took it and held it up so everyone could see…”

“That sounds like typical Gally…” Thomas was still looking at the drawing in awe, but confused at the same time.

“There…there’re a few more on the next few pages…” Newt wasn’t sure if he’d regret saying that once Thomas had seen how many drawings there were, but Thomas seemed eager to see the others, flipping quickly to the next page, and encountering the drawing Newt had made after Thomas had brought him home and helped him change clothes. Newt had spent hours on it, and he was proud of it; it looked almost like a black-and-white photograph.

“God, Newt, it’s beautiful.”

“I…I had trouble with the ears. They’re still not quite right…” Might as well be completely honest, right?

Thomas looked over at him, and was grinning. “My ears aren’t quite right? I happen to like my ears, thank you.”

“No, I mean…I mean I couldn’t get them quite right…”

“I’m teasing you, Newt. I think they look amazing. The whole thing looks amazing. It’s so incredible that you can do this.” Newt could see the earnestness in his eyes, and started to blush. “Really, it’s amazing. Fuck Gally for making fun of you for this.”

“I…you can have it, if you want?” Newt felt himself start to ramble. “I mean, only if you want it. I can draw another, but you don’t have to take it if you don’t really want to. I guess—“

“Hey.” Thomas was squeezing Newt’s shoulder gently. “Thank you. I would love it.”

“Good that.” Newt was smiling.

They made eye contact for a few seconds before Thomas talked again. “Do you want to hang out tomorrow? Teresa and I have a tradition of making cookies together every Memorial Day, I was thinking you might want to come?”

Newt had forgotten about the texts completely. “I…I wouldn’t want to intrude on your tradition.” That was a lie. Newt wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as possible with Thomas, but he really didn’t want to seem desperate.

“You wouldn’t be. I want you to come, and so does Teresa. We both do.”

Newt could sense that some puppy dog eyes were in the works if he declined again, so he agreed. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

Thomas grinned at him. “Awesome! We were planning for tomorrow afternoon. I can pick you up at 2:00?”

“Okay. Er…thanks for the invitation.” Newt was blushing again.

“Of course.” Thomas squeezed his shoulder again. “Friends.”

\--

It wasn’t much longer before Thomas said he had to go home. “My parents are probably wondering if I’ve moved out by now.” He chuckled at the thought, but Newt suddenly realized that he had basically taken Thomas from his family for two whole days.

“I’m sorry—“

“Hey, don’t apologize.” Thomas put his hand up to Newt’s neck, almost like he was cupping Newt’s jawbone, and softly rubbed next to his ear, smiling at him, before pulling him into a tight hug. “I’m here for you, okay? Don’t feel like you have to apologize for asking me to be there for you. If you ever need anything, let me know, okay? If you need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on, or if you don’t want to sleep alone, let me know, okay?”

“Okay.”

Thomas pulled out of the hug to look Newt in the eyes, switching between his eyes as he spoke. “I’m serious, Newt. Text me, or call me. I want you to, okay? You won’t be bothering me.”

Newt looked down at Thomas’ shoulder as he started to tear up. He had never had a friend before, and if this is what friendship was, he’d been missing something wonderful. “Thank you, Tommy.”

Thomas pulled him back into a hug, and rubbed his back gently as Newt cried a little into Thomas’ shoulder, before breathing deeply for a minute, and finally pulling himself out of the hug and wiping his eyes.

Thomas cupped Newt’s jaw again before giving him an encouraging smile, and then dropping his hand down and, to Newt’s surprise, using it to hold Newt’s and squeeze. It only lasted a second, but Newt felt like he would remember it forever. Somehow, it seemed more intimate than their sleeping together…

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Text me.” Thomas was smiling as he left Newt’s room, carrying the drawing of him, and, as far as Newt was concerned, his heart.

“Bye…”

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a couple of notes here. First, for those of you wonderful people who aren't from the US (and maybe those who are, but didn't know), Memorial Day is a holiday observed on the last Monday of May, when schools, banks, etc. are closed for the day. It's the day we remember all of those who have died in wars.
> 
> Secondly, I got a pretty positive response to the idea of writing this fic from Thomas' perspective as well, and I wanted to ask if I should write Thomas up to this point, and then continue them together, or if I should continue this as is, while also writing Thomas' POV and just have Tommy be a ways behind, or maybe you have some idea for how I should go about doing that? I don't want to spoil any cool parts of the story or anything :P
> 
> Thank you for reading, everyone!


	15. Getting Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Lots of practice, mostly.” Thomas was grinning. “You look nice.”
> 
> Newt blushed harder. “Thanks.” He thought for a second before continuing. “So do you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's been a while since I updated, sorry :( Now that I'm done with finals, hopefully writer's block won't be too big of an issue for me to update more often! Special thanks to chynnah for helping me get over writer's block to finish this chapter, and for beta-ing it for me!
> 
> As usual, leave a comment to let me know what you think!

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Text me.” Thomas was smiling as he left Newt’s room, carrying the drawing of him, and, as far as Newt was concerned, his heart.

“Bye…”

\--

“Mum.”

“What?” She looked like the picture of innocence.

“You’ve been looking at me like that since yesterday.”

“What do you mean?” Newt knew better than to fall for her charade.

“You’re doing it now! It’s like you’re skeptical of me or something.”

“It’s nothing.” There was a short pause before she spoke again. “It’s only, it’s so obvious.”

“What’s obvious?” Newt was confused.

“Thomas. He fancies you.”

“Mum. No he doesn’t. He’s just being nice.”

“Newt, the way he looks at you...and he's slept with you twice.”

“Mum. Please, don’t.” He knew that she was just doing what she thought was best for him, but she was wrong, and talking about it hurt. Knowing that Thomas would never feel the same way about him was painful. “He’s got a girlfriend.” That alone was enough to shoot down any dreams Newt might’ve had, and any his mom might’ve had for him. But he knew it was more than just that too. Thomas would never be interested in someone like him. Part of him knew that it was his depression that was talking when those thoughts came to mind, but the rest of him knew it was true: Thomas could do so much better than him. Thomas deserved so much better than him.

That seemed to convince his mom, at least for a while. She looked back down at her newspaper, and they finished eating their breakfasts in silence.

When they’d finished, she took their dishes to the sink, and turned around to hug him, like she did every morning before she left for work.

“I’m sorry Newt. Have a good day, yeah?”

“It’s alright, mum.” He knew she never meant to hurt him.

He watched as she got her things together and left. Alone, he sat and zoned out, his thoughts drifting, fidgeting with his hands.

Today was Monday, the day that he was going to hang out with Thomas and Teresa. He had to admit to himself, having friends was exciting. That is, if he could count Teresa as a second friend? She had always been nice to him, and she was Thomas’ girlfriend, so she couldn’t be all bad. He couldn’t imagine Thomas dating anyone but the nicest, most wonderful person…which, the whisper at the back of his mind reminded him, ruled him out. He was far from the most wonderful person he could think of.

He almost felt relaxed when his depression shot down his daydreams. If there was no way Thomas would ever fancy him, why worry about making a bad impression? It was almost logical, even if he knew he would be nervous around Thomas all afternoon.

He still hadn’t texted Thomas, and a glance at the clock told him it had been 24 hours since they’d last spoken. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to text Thomas; he just hadn’t been able to decide how to do it without sounding desperate or awkward. He’d tried to convince himself that Thomas _wanted_ to hear from him – after all, he had specifically said that – but it didn’t work, and he'd eventually fallen asleep before he'd followed through.

Now that it was the morning of their friend date (okay, maybe not the best word choice, but Newt couldn’t come up with a better word), he knew he should text Thomas, even if it was just to be sure that he didn’t want to withdraw the invitation for some reason. So, all he had to do was decide what to say that wasn’t awkward…

 _Hey Tommy_ ; he typed out the words, but he started to second-guess himself with “Tommy”. Maybe he should use “Thomas” instead? He didn’t seem to mind the nickname, but Newt was nervous nonetheless. It took him a few seconds, but he finally forced himself to hit “send” before he ended up deleting the message, like he had the night before.

_Hey Tommy – N_

He listened to the sending sound, and almost immediately, it was followed by the receiving jingle.

_Good morning :D – T_

_How did you sleep? – T_

How had he slept? He wasn’t totally sure. He definitely hadn’t slept as well as he had the two nights with Thomas, but those nights had been far from normal for him. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he decided that he’d slept better than he normally did, even if it hadn’t been for as long as he would’ve liked. He decided to write a response as quickly as possible, and send it before he could start worrying about how it might sound.

_Not poorly – N_

As he listened to the sending sound again, he realized how negative it sounded, and regretted having sent it so quickly. He only got more nervous, as the three dots showed Thomas was typing. It seemed long, whatever it was.

_Okay. If you want, I can come over? – T_

Newt blushed. No, no, he didn’t want to have Thomas over right then, he felt like that would be more demanding than he had the right to be. Besides, he hadn’t slept poorly, and he was going to see Thomas in just a few hours anyway.

_That’s okay. I’m alright. – N_

_Okay. But I’m here for you if you need me, remember? – T_

Newt blushed again before he got another.

_Teresa wanted me to tell you to wear clothes that you’re willing to get flour on. – T_

_You might get flour on them. – T_

_You’ll probably get flour on them. We usually have flour fights. – T_

Something about the image of Thomas chasing Teresa around a kitchen, throwing flour at her, made Newt giggle.

_Will do. – N_

_Great! See you at 2:00 :D – T_

\--

Most of the rest of the morning and early afternoon Newt spent being nervous, fidgeting, and then taking a shower and trying in vain to do his hair. He’d wanted to do it the same way his mom had done it on Saturday, because he had liked it, and Thomas had complimented it, but after more than 20 minutes, he was left with the same mess he’d had before, and no mom around to come and help him. He was frustrated, he was drained, and… he heard a knock at the front door. He looked to the clock: it was 1:53; Thomas was seven minutes early, and Newt was almost ready to panic. His hair looked like shit, and he just knew that Thomas’ would be as perfect as usual.

As he came down the stairs, he tried one last time to flatten his hair, at least a little bit, but he doubted it had worked.

Opening the door, he was greeted by a smiling Thomas, who was, as Newt had expected, looking as handsome as ever, with his hair as perfectly-styled as ever. He looked genuinely happy to see Newt. “Hey. Sorry I’m a little early.”

Newt saw him glance up, towards his hair, and could only imagine what he was thinking about it. He opened the door wider so Thomas could come in.

“It’s alright. I’m nearly ready.” He fidgeted nervously with his hair, trying to do anything with it, before Thomas seemed to blush before speaking.

“Do you, um… want some help with your hair?”

“Is it that bad?” Newt was embarrassed, because he knew what the answer was.

“No, it’s just… you don’t look quite done with it?” It was obvious that he’d made up the last part as an excuse, but it wasn’t unkind.

Thomas smiled at him reassuringly as he stepped closer, and reached up towards Newt’s hair. He stroked his fingers through it gently, doing his best to fix the mess Newt had made of it, and Newt tried to figure out what to do with his eyes. He’d never been so close to Thomas’ face before, and he had the perfect angle to admire it, but he just found himself staring at that same reassuring smile. Thomas was distracted and didn’t seem to notice that all of Newt’s thoughts had become daydreams about that smile.

He was so close… all he had to do was lean in... Thomas’ smile never faltered, and they got closer, and closer, until he felt his lips touch Thomas’, and he stopped. He had no idea what to do. He was frozen there, until he felt Thomas’ lips move under his, and Thomas was kissing him, and he felt like he was falling apart, and falling down a cliff. It was the most amazing thing he had ever felt, and –

“Okay, how’s that?” Thomas’ voice brought the dream to a crashing end, as Newt tried to remember what was going on. “I like this style on you.” Thomas was still smiling at him.

Newt turned around to hide his blush and his confusion, and found a mirror on the wall. It took him a second to figure out how to function again, but when he saw himself in the mirror, he was impressed.

“Wow… how did you do that?” It reminded him of one of the hairstyles Thomas sometimes wore, mixed with the style his mom had helped him with. For a second, he thought he looked handsome, but he reconsidered once Thomas had joined him in the reflection, and blown his own looks, if he had any, out of the water.

“Lots of practice, mostly.” Thomas was grinning. “You look nice.”

Newt blushed harder. “Thanks.” He thought for a second before continuing. “So do you.” If Thomas could compliment him so easily, then he should be able to say something nice back, even if he was afraid Thomas wouldn’t appreciate it. He was wrong.

“Thank you.” Thomas was clearly, obviously blushing. After what Newt thought was an awkward silence, Thomas spoke again. “Should we go then? We don’t want to keep Teresa waiting.”

“No…” Newt figured that was a subtle reminder from Thomas that he had a girlfriend. “No we don’t.”

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys have comments/suggestions/questions/prompts/funny jokes/whatever, you can e-mail me at uncle2fire@gmail.com :D


	16. Flour Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You wanted to make half the chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chips.”
> 
> “Oh yeah.” Teresa laughed. “I hate white chocolate. I just wanted to argue with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you, I hope you like it!

“Should we go then? We don’t want to keep Teresa waiting.”

“No…” Newt figured that was a subtle reminder from Thomas that he had a girlfriend. “No we don’t.”

\--

When they pulled into Teresa’s driveway, Newt was amazed. Her house was huge. Three stories tall and at least twice as wide as his own house, it was perched on a hill, which made it seem even bigger. The lawn was perfectly manicured, and the house itself was surrounded by Roman-style columns. It was palatial, Newt thought. He’d had no idea that Teresa’s family was so rich; he’d assumed everyone was as middle-class as he and his mom were.

Once Thomas stopped the car, he hopped out, calling back as he did. “Let’s go!” His voice was as happy as ever, and he hadn’t seemed to notice that Newt was looking up at the house speechless.

By the time Newt had gotten out of the car, Thomas was nearly to the front door, and was looking back at him expectantly, so Newt followed him carefully up the path to the door, as he kept his eyes up and on the arches flanking the windows on the upper floors.

“Are you okay?” Thomas was using his familiar concerned voice. He must have noticed that Newt was distracted.

“It’s only…it’s bigger than I expected.”

Thomas looked confused for a second, before he followed Newt’s gaze up to the house and seemed to understand what he meant. “Oh.” He looked shocked at first, and then embarrassed, and Newt got the impression that he’d never noticed the size of Teresa’s house before. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

For a second, Newt was regretting having mentioned the house at all, because he’d clearly made the whole situation awkward, but Thomas was quickly back to his happy self, smiling at Newt before continuing to the front door and ringing the doorbell. Newt followed him and ended up standing nervously behind him as they waited.

It only took a few seconds before he thought he heard someone yelling for them to come in. Thomas must have heard it too, because he opened the door and motioned for Newt to follow him in.

Through the front door was the entrance hall, which must have been twice the size of Newt’s living room, complete with a grand staircase and a chandelier. He made himself promise not to comment on the fanciness of the house again, but he couldn’t help feeling awkward in the giant space. He didn’t have much experience going to other people’s houses, and he never knew what to do with himself; should he take off his shoes? Should he wait for the host to lead him around? Should he ‘make himself at home’? And the enormity of the house certainly wasn’t helping his nerves.

Teresa wasn’t in the hall, but thankfully, Thomas knew where he was going, so Newt followed him toward the back of the house, as he called out. “Hey Teresa!”

As they rounded the corner at the back of the hall and came into the kitchen, Teresa called back excitedly. “Tom!” She came around the island where she’d been laying out mixing bowls and immediately flew into a hug with Thomas. Newt could tell they were both squeezing as tightly as they could, and started to feel distinctly like a third wheel.

After what felt like a few minutes to Newt, but what was probably just a second or two, they relaxed and started laughing softly before rocking a few times from side to side, and then letting each other go, leaving Newt feeling terrible. They were obviously happy together, so who was he to wish that Thomas would fancy him instead?

After letting Thomas go, Teresa turned to him, smiling at him the same way Thomas did. It was so genuine that he felt immediately more at ease.

“Hey Newt.”

“Hey.” It came out more quietly than he’d intended, but she didn’t seem to care.

“I’m glad you came.” He saw a twinkle in her eyes before she continued. “I was getting tired of being stuck alone with Tom for the whole afternoon.”

“Hey!” Thomas playfully swatted at her arm as Newt found himself laughing with her.

\--

After that, he felt his nervousness disappear, and he realized that he felt almost as comfortable around Teresa as he was around Thomas, with the added bonus of not fancying her.

Teresa had shown him quickly around the kitchen, which was as luxurious as he’d imagined when he first saw the entrance hall, complete with a giant island and granite countertops. Then, he watched as Teresa and Thomas got into a friendly argument about what kind of cookies and how many they should make, and he realized that he was smiling while watching them. He had to admit that they made a cute couple, even if it was sad to be reminded that he didn’t have a chance.

It was clear after a few minutes of their bickering that they weren’t going to agree, so Teresa made the first move of gleefully throwing a fistful of flour into Thomas’ face, before escaping around the island to hide behind Newt. Thomas grabbed a handful of flour and came after her, and Newt proved to be an unreliable shield as he stepped aside and Teresa got a face-full of flour, as she squealed “Newt!” and snickered, before chasing Thomas back toward the flour bag.

Newt laughed hysterically, more than he could remember having laughed in years, as he watched them exchange fire across the island, and then take turns trying to use him as a shield. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to join in, until Thomas tossed a cloud of flour at Teresa, and hit Newt square in the face instead. Thomas yelled an apology, but Teresa convinced him to side with her to get revenge. With the two of them working together, it didn’t take long to convince Thomas to surrender.

“Okay, okay! I give up!” They were all giggling, and Thomas had to catch his breath between words. “You guys win!”

“What did we win?” Teresa was panting too. “I forgot.”

“You wanted to make half the chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chips.”

“Oh yeah.” Teresa laughed. “I hate white chocolate. I just wanted to argue with you.”

“You mean we all got covered with flour for no reason?” Thomas was putting on his best scandalized voice.

“Not for no reason. It was fun!” Teresa looked over at Newt and added, “I don’t know if Tom warned you, but the flour fight is tradition.” She looked back to Thomas. “How could we make cookies without having a flour fight first?”

Thomas was wiping flour from his face with a paper towel and only hummed in agreement.

“Well.” Teresa was looking at the flour bag, the contents of which were mostly spread out over the floor, the countertops, and their clothes, and was grinning. “It looks like we used most of the flour. I’ll get more from the pantry.” As she turned and left the kitchen through a back door, she yelled back to them. “Be right back!”

\--

They were left for a few seconds in silence, as Thomas kept wiping flour off his face, and Newt started fidgeting with his hands, feeling nervous again, now that he and Thomas were alone.

“Do you want a paper towel?” Thomas was smiling at him. “You have flour, well…everywhere.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Newt grinned, took the paper towel Thomas handed him, and started wiping his face with it.

“Sorry if that was weird for you.” Thomas was looking at the floor and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “It’s pretty normal for us.”

“No, it was fun.” Newt smiled at him as he looked back up. “I’ve never done anything like it before.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” Thomas was beaming at him again. “It’s nice to know we’re not too weird.”

They both laughed softly before Newt’s nerves got to him again and he started to look down at his hands.

“You, um…you missed some flour.” Thomas was speaking softly, and Newt reflexively reached up to touch his face.

“Where?” Newt was almost whispering too.

“I…I can get it.” He seemed to hesitate as he suggested it, but he took another paper towel and stepped up to Newt, so they were as close as when he’d fixed Newt’s hair earlier.

He reached up and gently wiped under Newt’s eyes and along his nose. Newt was blushing and feeling his stomach explode with butterflies, but he was certain, for a second, that Thomas looked nervous too. But before he could decide what it was about Thomas’ expression that gave that away, he heard Teresa come back into the room, and he practically jumped away from Thomas, feeling his blush creep up into his ears and down to his neck, and doing his best not to look in Thomas’ direction.

“Bad news, guys.” Teresa didn’t seem to notice anything strange as she talked. “We’re out of flour, so we’ll have to go buy some more.”

“I’ll go.” Thomas seemed to jump at the chance.

“It’s okay, I can go if you guys want to stay –“ Teresa started, before Thomas cut her off.

“No, no. I’ll go.” Newt wasn’t looking toward Thomas, but he could hear something off in his voice.

“Okay…” It sounded like Teresa had noticed it too.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” He sounded rushed, and quickly left the room. Newt heard the front door close a few seconds later, and realized that he didn’t know what had just happened.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! <3


	17. Making Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Long enough to fix your hair.” It was a stage whisper, so it was obvious that she wanted both of them to hear her. Newt looked up and saw that Thomas’ hair was once again perfectly styled, without a trace of flour. Newt couldn’t help but giggle, as Thomas looked self-conscious for a second and reached up towards his hair.
> 
> “What’s wrong with my hair?” He glanced toward Newt for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello fine gentlepersons, I have a nice short(ish) chapter for you here! Thanks for waiting for this chapter for longer than I'd expected. I was hoping to be able to write more and more often now that it's summer, but writer's block is hard to get over when you have so much free time :/
> 
> I hope you like it, and I hope you leave a comment, 'cause comments are awesome-tastical!

“No, no. I’ll go.” Newt wasn’t looking toward Thomas, but he could hear something off in his voice.

“Okay…” It sounded like Teresa had noticed it too.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” He sounded rushed, and quickly left the room. Newt heard the front door close a few seconds later, and realized that he didn’t know what had just happened.

\--

“What did I miss?” Teresa was looking at him expectantly, but Newt didn’t know how to respond.

“What do you mean?” He could feel his blush starting to come back, and realized how nervous he was without Thomas around. He didn’t really know Teresa at all, and that thought just made him more nervous.

“Well, you look confused, and Tom looked embarrassed…” The way she was looking at him, with her eyes ever-so-slightly squinted, it felt like she could read his mind. Realizing what she’d find if she could read his mind, he blushed even harder and looked down to fidget with his hands. “Okay.” She spoke as soon as Newt had looked down. “Do you want to help me clean up the flour?”

Newt looked up at her, and she was smiling gently at him, reminding him of Thomas and his mom mixed together. “Yeah, sure.”

“Great! Cleaning up is always the worst part of the day.” She laughed happily. “If you wipe down the counters, I’ll go grab a mop.”

“Sure.” He walked over to get some paper towels as she left the kitchen, and he was glad she’d changed the subject.

\--

They cleaned in silence until they were done, and Teresa leaned the mop against the doorway.

“Thanks, Newt!” She walked over to the island and straightened the bowls she’d been putting out when they got there. “Now we won’t have to clean as much afterwards.” Her eyes twinkled again before she kept going, talking more quietly. “Unless Tom says something else that calls for flour in his _perfect hair_.” She said the last two words with extra sarcasm, and laughed. Newt chuckled too, but he also blushed, because he thought that Thomas’ hair was pretty close to perfect.

“Just watch.” She was practically whispering now, like what she was about to share was some dark secret. “Tom’ll be back in a minute, and his hair will be _perfect_. He’s obsessive.” She sounded solemn, but Newt could tell she was holding back a giggle, and he thought she was probably trying to make him less nervous. It worked well enough, and she seemed satisfied, as she turned towards the cabinets and started taking out wooden spoons; one for each bowl.

“So…” This was Newt’s attempt at small talk. “How long have you and Tomm- er… Thomas, been…?” He decided that calling him Tommy to his girlfriend’s face probably wasn’t a good idea, and he’d kind of trailed off at the end, but if he was honest, he came off much more nonchalant than he’d expected.

“Friends?” She seemed to totally miss what Newt was getting at. “Our parents have been friends our whole lives, so we’ve known each other since we were little.”

It wasn’t an answer to the question he was trying to ask, but it had the same effect in his view. If they’d been that close for so long, they wouldn’t be breaking up anytime soon, would they be? Not that he stood a chance before, but this just confirmed what he already knew.

But since Newt was into making things harder for himself, he tried asking again. “And how long’ve you been… together?”

Her eyes got wider, and Newt was afraid maybe it was an inappropriate question. “You mean, like, dating?”

“Er…yeah?” His nervousness was definitely back now.

Teresa laughed. Newt blushed and was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second. “You thought we were dating?” She was trying to keep herself from laughing more, but she wasn’t totally successful. Newt only managed a nervous nod.

“Oh my god, no! We’re just friends.” She suddenly looked taken aback. “That’s so gross!”

Okay, Newt was definitely confused now. Gross was the last word that came to mind when he thought about Thomas. His confusion must have been obvious, because she was quick to clarify.

“I mean, Tom’s really handsome, but we’ve been friends since preschool. He’s like my brother. Dating him would just be…weird.”

“Oh.”

“Is it the hugging?” She was back to looking gleeful. “I knew his would happen!” She was beaming at him, apparently oblivious to how embarrassed he was. “I told Tom that people would think we were dating, but he didn’t believe me!”

She was so excited, for some reason, but Newt just wished he could hide his face, because he could feel how hot it was, and knew he must be bright red.

“Sorry.” She seemed to have suddenly noticed how he was feeling, and looked more apologetic. “Tom and I have this contest for bragging rights. This’ll give me points for weeks!”

“You’re welcome.” Newt was surprised he could manage sarcasm, but Teresa just looked elated.

“I like you.” She sounded serious, if still a little amused, and Newt looked at the floor, because no one had ever been so bluntly friendly to him before.

When he heard the front door open a second later, part of him was glad to have the conversation redirected, even if he was suddenly worrying about the awkward situation before Thomas had left.

As he came into the room, carrying a grocery bag, Teresa was quick to be the first one to talk.

“Welcome back, Tom.” She swept her arms dramatically around the room. “You’ll see that we were working the whole time you were gone.”

“I wasn’t gone that long.” He still seemed a little nervous as he put the bag on the counter, still avoiding looking at Newt.

“Long enough to fix your hair.” It was a stage whisper, so it was obvious that she wanted both of them to hear her. Newt looked up and saw that Thomas’ hair was once again perfectly styled, without a trace of flour. Newt couldn’t help but giggle, as Thomas looked self-conscious for a second and reached up towards his hair.

“What’s wrong with my hair?” He glanced toward Newt for a moment.

“Nothing!” Teresa was quick to answer again, and pulled Thomas’ eyes back to her. “It looks wonderful, as usual.”

Thomas looked between them skeptically, as they both held in laughs, looking as though they both were lying to him about something.

“Well.” Teresa took one of the bags of flour and started opening it. “We could spend the rest of the afternoon talking, or we could make some cookies.” Her voice took on a sarcastic tone. “And goodness knows the only way I can stand an afternoon with Tom here is with a few dozen cookies.”

“Hey!” It was a bit weaker than his earlier reaction, and it was tinged with some leftover nervousness, but Thomas still managed to playfully swat at Teresa’s arm.

\--

They spent the rest of the afternoon mixing cookie dough, eating cookie dough, and baking what must have been twelve dozen cookies, all under Teresa’s instructions. Thomas still seemed nervous, and did his best to avoid looking at him, and not get too close to him, usually keeping Teresa between them. To be fair, Newt was doing the same thing, though Teresa either didn’t notice or was happy to ignore it.

Newt watched Thomas and Teresa get into a hundred friendly, adorable arguments: whether they should sift the flour, how to sift the flour, whether to melt the butter or just soften it, whether to bake most of the dough, or freeze most of it, whether to make a million small cookies or just a few giant ones, and a thousand other friendly little squabbles that had him smiling at how adorable and domestic Thomas could be, and at how sarcastic Teresa could be.

“Do you always fight like this?” As he had all afternoon, he addressed his question more to Teresa.

“I think so.” She just smiled, as she smacked away Thomas’ hand from sneaking some cookie dough from her bowl. “What fun is anything if you agree all the time?”

By the time they had all eaten more cookies than they probably should have, and still had mountains of them left, it was almost 5:00, and Thomas announced that they should probably be leaving. Newt offered to help finish cleaning the dishes, but Teresa insisted that she would do it.

As she escorted them back to the entrance hall, she gave Newt a quick hug, thanking him for coming, and assuring him that she was glad he had. As she pulled Thomas into a hug she winked at Newt and whispered something into Thomas’ ear that made him blush, but Newt couldn’t hear what it was.

As they walked out to Thomas’ car, she yelled a quick “See you guys tomorrow!” before closing the front door, and making Newt suddenly nervous for the long drive home.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news internet-acquaintances! The next chapter has already been written! (I know, totally unexpected, right?) I actually wrote it before this one because I guess Teresa-Newt interactions were hard for me to write, but all I need to do it type it (yes, I write these all by hand first), and then I can upload it! It should be done at some point later tonight, and might already be up, depending on when you're reading this.
> 
> Anywho, leave me a comment below! I'll love you forever and ever! :D


	18. The Feeling is Mutual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Thomas…” His mind was still blank on what to say. He was getting ready to apologize again when Thomas interrupted him.
> 
> “Hey.” His voice was still quiet and nervous, but it was gentle and strangely reassuring too. “You can call me Tommy.” He seemed to hesitate before continuing. “I want you to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, dear readers! The promised next chapter, uploaded freakishly soon after the previous one (please don't expect this regularly). Also please read the previous chapter first! We don't want you to miss all the wonderful Newt-Teresa semi-fluffiness that can be found there.
> 
> PS: This may or may not be the chapter you were all waiting for.

As she escorted them back to the entrance hall, she gave Newt a quick hug, thanking him for coming, and assuring him that she was glad he had. As she pulled Thomas into a hug she winked at Newt and whispered something into Thomas’ ear that made him blush, but Newt couldn’t hear what it was.

As they walked out to Thomas’ car, she yelled a quick “See you guys tomorrow!” before closing the front door, and making Newt suddenly nervous for the long drive home.

\--

The ride back to his house was quiet, and Newt was starting to worry about, well, everything. He was trying to work it all out in his head, and the more he thought about it, the more obvious it was to him that Thomas knew how he felt.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” He blurted it out, and he cringed as he did. He knew it came out sounding pathetic, and part of him regretted it, but he really needed to know.

Thomas didn’t respond right away, and the silence started to make Newt panic. When he looked over, Thomas was staring at him in shock, his eyes wide, and a look of confusion on his face. He opened his mouth to talk, but it took a few seconds for him to form the words, seconds that only made Newt panic more. By the time he started to talk, Newt was almost ready to jump out of the car to hide in his room and cry, for ruining everything. When Thomas spoke, his voice cracked. “What?”

“I…you…” Newt was lost. He looked down at his hands in his lap and swallowed loudly before he tried again. “We’d never talked, but after Thursday, you’ve spent all this time with me. You’ve let me talk to you, you’ve let me call you Tommy…” Newt started to cry. “…you’ve let me cry on your shoulder, and hug you, and…” He had to swallow again, before whispering the next part, as his voice cracked. “…sleep with you.” He paused, because he needed to stay coherent, because he needed Thomas to understand and answer. “It’s just…you’re so nice, letting me be your friend, and I just make everything difficult and awkward and…I just…why are you doing so much for me?” Newt kept his eyes fixed on his hands as he finished.

It took a moment for Thomas to talk, but when he did, Newt could hear that he was struggling too. “I’m sorry.” His voice was full of genuine regret. “I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to get to know you for so long. I just couldn’t. I’m sorry, Newt.” Newt heard him turn in his seat, but he kept his yes down.

“Why?” Newt felt weak when he said it, but it was the only thing he could think to ask.

Another pause. “Teresa says it’s obvious.” It sounded like he’d made up his mind about something, but all Newt could think about was he’d meant. What was obvious? His mind supplied an answer: Thomas knew. Teresa knew and she’d told him, and she thought it was obvious: Newt fancied Thomas.

Newt was panicking. Should he deny it? Maybe if he admitted it, Thomas would forgive him?

Newt turned, still not sure what he was going to say, and met Thomas’ eyes. He couldn’t move. Thomas was looking at him almost sadly, his eyes wide, and his mouth open slightly. He was trying to say something, Newt realized, but he didn’t. Thomas looked away, at the steering wheel, and closed his mouth, before clenching his jaw, closing his eyes and inhaling, the way Newt did himself when he was getting ready to do something difficult.

“Can we go inside? I think we need to talk.”

“Okay.” It came out quietly, and Newt was feeling very small.

Thomas turned off the car, and they were both quiet until they got to the front door. “Is your mom home?” Thomas was almost whispering.

“No…no, not ‘till 7:00.” For some reason, Newt felt suddenly vulnerable, without his mom nearby, but he supposed that the talk Thomas wanted with him would probably be easier if they were alone.

Once they were inside, Newt went straight for his room, hearing Thomas close the front door behind them and follow him up the stairs, keeping a few steps behind. When he got to his room, he kicked off his shoes and climbed on to the bed, pulling one of the pillows up to his chest, and sitting up against the headboard. The pillow didn’t do much, but he did feel slightly less vulnerable with it protecting him.

As Thomas followed him in, he closed the door slowly before hesitantly sitting on the edge of the bed and focusing on the floor. After a few seconds, he opened his mouth to talk, but Newt cut him off.

“I’m sorry.” Seeing that Thomas was about to start talking, and realizing that Thomas knew about his ridiculous crush, Newt decided that this was his last chance to try to explain, and not have Thomas reject him completely. He wasn’t ready to lose his only friend.

“W-why?” Thomas looked confused. “Why are you sorry?”

“Fancying you…I didn’t want to make everything weird for you…I’m sorry.” Newt kept talking because Thomas was still quiet, still looking shocked, and still not answering.

“You…you like me?” He said it like a question, but Newt heard it as a statement, and braced himself for whatever Thomas would say next…except he didn’t say anything. It felt like forever before he heard anything from the edge of the bed. “Oh.” It was quiet and simple, but Newt felt like it was meaningful somehow.

“I’m sorry.” He still didn’t know what to say, so he settled for apologizing again and fidgeting with his pillow while avoiding eye contact. There was another long pause before Thomas said anything else, and his voice cracked as he did.

“Ca-can you come sit next to me?” His voice was still quiet, almost shy, and Newt felt like it was more of a plea than a request, but he was too scared to respond. Too scared, too embarrassed, too confused, and too nervous. This wasn’t at all the response he’d been expecting, but he was still sure that Thomas was trying to let him down easily.

“Newt?” It must have been a long silence for Thomas to try to get his attention. “Please?” Newt glanced up, but looked away as soon as he did, to avoid looking into Thomas’ eyes, which were focused directly on him.

It took a few seconds, though it felt like a lot longer than that, for Newt to slowly move towards Thomas on the edge of the bed. After all, what did he have to lose? He hesitantly set his pillow aside and slid over to the side of the bed, keeping his arms tucked close to his sides and his eyes far from Thomas’. He made sure to leave plenty of space between them, but as soon as he was settled, Thomas closed the space between them, and their legs were pressed together. Newt was too nervous to move away or to blush, which was probably a first for him.

“Newt?” Thomas sounded like he was addressing a scared puppy, and Newt supposed he probably looked like one.

“Thomas…” His mind was still blank on what to say. He was getting ready to apologize again when Thomas interrupted him.

“Hey.” His voice was still quiet and nervous, but it was gentle and strangely reassuring too. “You can call me Tommy.” He seemed to hesitate before continuing. “I want you to.”

“But…won’t it be weird?” Newt knew the answer should be yes, so he was even more confused that Thomas *wanted* to be called Tommy.

“No…” Thomas’ voice sounded stronger and less nervous, but it was still as gentle and reassuring as before. It sounded like he was smiling while talking. “Not at all.”

“But…I fancy you…?”

“Yeah, and the feeling is mutual.” Thomas was whispering again, and Newt could barely hear him, which he used to convince himself that he’d misheard.

“What?” He looked up into Thomas’ eyes, and all he saw in them was a kind of gentle sincerity, and Thomas glanced between his eyes.

“I like you too.”

Newt knew that he’d heard it perfectly well that time, but it still took a while to sink in. As he processed it, he was vaguely aware that Thomas had gently pulled his right hand away from protecting his stomach and was holding it in his left, resting them together against their touching legs. Newt’s eyes drifted to their hands, and something about their interlaced fingers resting against Thomas’ thigh made him understand.

“You fancy me?” It may have come off as bewildered, or maybe even a bit distrustful, but he hadn’t meant it that way.

“Yeah.” Thomas’ response was immediate and breathless.

“Oh.” It sounded just like Thomas had a few minutes earlier, but instead of working out a longstanding confusion, Newt was more confused than ever. He wasn’t at all convinced that he had any idea at all of what was going on.

He looked back at Thomas, and met his eyes again. And then Thomas glanced down at his mouth, and Newt’s breath hitched in his throat, and he knew he must be dreaming.

Thomas looked into his eyes again, and started to move closer, and Newt was still convinced that he was imagining the whole thing, but he couldn’t move. Thomas tilted his head slightly to the side, and kept moving slowly, until Newt felt their lips gently touch. Thomas’ were warm, soft, and dry, and even though it was only a peck, Newt’s lips were tingling afterwards, and he felt almost deliriously excited.

Thomas had pulled back far enough to look into Newt’s eyes again, and he was whispering. “Is this okay?” Newt was only able to give what was probably a frantic nod. Thomas smiled happily and moved in more quickly than before.

The same deliriously excited feeling flooded his body as Thomas’ lips reached his own again. They were still soft and warm, but they didn’t stop at a quick peck this time. They stuck to Newt’s frozen ones and started to gently move, opening and closing slightly; the quiet sounds just made the entire sensation all the more real, as he finally understood that Thomas _was_ kissing him.

Thomas must have been kissing him for a few seconds without a response before he pulled back again, and Newt could suddenly breathe again. When their eyes met, Newt knew he was holding his heart out in his hand, more vulnerable now than ever before, as he asked for the one thing he wanted most right them.

“Can I hug you?” Part of him had expected Thomas to refuse, for some reason.

“Of course.” Thomas didn’t hesitate for a second before pulling Newt into a hug. Burying his face in Thomas’ shoulder, and feeling Thomas’ strong arms wrapped tightly around him, Newt realized that he had never been so happy in his life before. He felt safe, wanted, appreciated, and so deliriously happy.

“So, the feeling is mutual?” He remembered Thomas’ words from earlier.

“Yeah.” Thomas laughed softly, while rubbing gently up and down Newt’s back. “The feeling is mutual.”

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it, and that it was worth the wait? Let me know with a comment! <3


	19. The Best Day of His Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Can I give you a ride to school tomorrow?”
> 
> “Y…yeah. I’d like that.” Newt couldn’t tell where that suggestion had come from, but he couldn’t seem to think of anything he was more likely to agree to right then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the super extremely long wait. Writer's block is killer. This chapter is so short, but was necessary to move the story along to somewhere where it's easier to start writing from. So hopefully the next part won't be nearly so long in the making. I hope you like it anyways!
> 
> Let me know what you think in a comment!

“So, the feeling is mutual?” He remembered Thomas’ words from earlier.

“Yeah.” Thomas laughed softly, while rubbing gently up and down Newt’s back. “The feeling is mutual.”

Newt was crying, but this time, they were happy tears.

\--

They sat together for a while, but Newt couldn’t have said for how long exactly, before Thomas whispered apologetically. “I have to go, Newt. I’ll be late for dinner.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Newt pulled back and wiped at his eyes, more to keep himself from looking at Thomas than to clear up any tears. They’d dried up ages ago.

“Sorry. I wish I could stay.” Thomas sounded dejected, and he reached out and took both of Newt’s hands in his own. “I’ve wanted to hold your hands for so long.”

Newt blushed and thought about how he’d been dreaming about Thomas holding his hand since freshman year, and now that it was happening, his whole body felt tingly and the same deliriously happy feeling that had started when Thomas kissed him seemed to have become permanently lodged in his stomach.

Thomas started pulling Newt towards the door, and when Newt finally glanced up, Thomas was looking at him with a soft smile, just as happy as his grins, but more personal somehow. Newt loved it.

It didn’t take long for them to make it to the front door, holding hands all the way, even though both of them seemed to be walking slowly on purpose. Newt couldn’t tell if Thomas felt the same way, but he was feeling dazed, still trying to wrap his head around Thomas liking him back.

“Can I give you a ride to school tomorrow?”

“Y…yeah. I’d like that.” Newt couldn’t tell where that suggestion had come from, but he couldn’t seem to think of anything he was more likely to agree to right then.

“Awesome.” Thomas was moving closer, and looking straight into Newt’s heart through his eyes. It took a second for Newt to realize what Thomas was hoping for, and when he did, he suddenly realized what he wanted more than going to school Thomas in the morning.

Newt still couldn’t make himself move while their lips were locked, but Thomas didn’t seem to mind, and drew out the kiss keeping his own lips still too, before he pulled back, smiling his private smile, and squeezing Newt’s hand.

“See you in the morning, Newt.”

“See you, Tommy.”

As the door closed, Newt just sank to the floor next to it, overwhelmed with what had to be the best day of his life.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So short, I know! I promise the next one will be way longer!


	20. Good Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Good morning, Thomas!” She was beaming and seemed almost as excited to see him as Newt, and Newt couldn’t tell if it was because Thomas was his first friend (or boyfriend? were they boyfriends? Newt wasn’t really sure), or because she’d fallen a little in love with him too, in a motherly sort of way. Newt wouldn’t really be surprised. Thomas was charming and gorgeous, after all. “I wanted to thank you for offering Newt a lift. I’m always afraid he’ll be late.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey fellow Newtmas lovers! I hope this chapter satisfies your fluff needs for the moment, and I hope it isn't too much later than you'd expected. I'd been playing with the idea of another chapter between this one and the previous one, with Newt and his mom, but I eventually decided to include a much-abbreviated version at the beginning of this chapter, which is what those several lines of dialogue at the beginning are. I hope you like it!
> 
> Leave me a comment to let me know what you think! <3

“See you in the morning, Newt.”

“See you, Tommy.”

As the door closed, Newt just sank to the floor next to it, overwhelmed with what had to be the best day of his life.

\--

“Mum, he kissed me.”

“What?”

“He kissed me. Tom-Thomas kissed me.”

“Really?” … “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“…yeah.”

“You don’t seem very excited. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. He kissed me, mum. I didn’t think he would ever actually…”

“Kiss you? I told you he fancied you. It’s the way he looks at you.”

“Thanks mum.”

\--

Newt was just getting up to put his dishes in the sink when there was a knock at the front door. Thomas was earlier than he’d expected; glancing at the clock, Newt noticed that he wouldn’t have left yet even if he’d been walking.

“Give me that.” His mom was grinning at him, and took his plate out of his hands. “Go get the door, love.”

Blushing but smiling, Newt left the kitchen. Opening the front door, he found Thomas on the stoop, beaming at him and looking more gorgeous than usual. Newt always thought Thomas looked more handsome every time he saw him.

“Good morning!” Thomas sounded excited to be there, and Newt could see the happiness reach his eyes.

“Morning, Tommy.” He still couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Do you want to come in?” He stepped to the side, and Thomas practically bounced inside. After closing the door, Newt turned around and found Thomas staring at him, smiling.

“You look really nice.”

That was too much. Newt looked immediately down towards his feet, blushing and grinning like a maniac. “Thanks.” Afraid he might embarrass himself even more if Thomas complimented him again, Newt did his best to create a distraction. “Mum! Tommy’s here!”

By the time he’d finished yelling, his mom had already come out from the kitchen.

“Good morning, Ms. Isaacs.” Thomas was smiling at her too, and sounding very polite.

“Good morning, Thomas!” She was beaming and seemed almost as excited to see him as Newt, and Newt couldn’t tell if it was because Thomas was his first friend (or boyfriend? were they boyfriends? Newt wasn’t really sure), or because she’d fallen a little in love with him too, in a motherly sort of way. Newt wouldn’t really be surprised. Thomas was charming and gorgeous, after all. “I wanted to thank you for offering Newt a lift. I’m always afraid he’ll be late.”

“Mum! I’m never late!” He didn’t want his mom fussing over him in front of Thomas. As if he weren’t already embarrassed enough on his own.

“It’s no problem, Ms. Isaacs.”

“Can I offer you some breakfast?” Not that they had anything to offer, Newt thought as she offered. They’d only had toast and tea; not exactly Thomas’ idea of breakfast.

“I actually just ate.” Thomas chuckled as looked at Newt. “Otherwise, I’d definitely accept.” And Newt remembered how excited for breakfast Thomas had been both mornings after he’d slept over. Newt giggled softly too.

“Well, I hope you two have a good day. I need to finish getting ready for work.” She smiled at Thomas and (Newt died a little inside) winked at Newt, before she went upstairs and left Newt alone with Thomas.

“Should we go?” Thomas didn’t waste any time asking after they were alone.

“It’s only a five minute drive, Tommy. Class doesn’t start for twenty minutes.”

“That gives us fifteen minutes in the car.” And Newt felt that little part of himself come alive again when Thomas winked at him too, before laughing happily. Blushing heavily, and not sure what to say, Newt started to grab his backpack, before Thomas snatched it from him and slung it over his own shoulder, flashing Newt a bright smile. “Let’s go.”

When they got to the car, Thomas threw Newt’s bag into the backseat with his own, and Newt was still trying to process what was going on in his life now. “Thanks for this, Tommy.” He wasn’t only talking about the rid, but it was as close as he could come to mentioning their kisses, and their relationship.

“No problem, Newt. That’s what friends are for.”

It didn’t seem like a big deal to Thomas, but it struck Newt. Were they just friends? Was Thomas trying to say he didn’t want anything more with him? Not that Newt would blame him. Newt was still confused about the whole situation, and what Thomas could possibly see in him. But Thomas had made it pretty clear from his words, and the kisses, how he felt, hadn’t he? His confusion must have been pretty obvious (no surprise there), because as soon as Thomas got into the car with him, his smile faltered a tiny bit.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah…it’s just…” Newt wasn’t sure he should bring it up. Would he seem desperate?

“What did I say?” Thomas sounded embarrassed, and he was making the same face Newt did when he’d said something he really wished he could take back.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just…really nervous?” Thomas said it like a question, and was blushing a tiny bit. It was adorable. “I really don’t want to mess things up with you.” He was actively avoiding eye contact with Newt, but it was obvious that he was embarrassed.

“Oh.” Newt was feeling exactly the same way, and knowing he wasn’t alone seemed to relieve a lot of his anxiety. He suddenly felt better about asking. “You said ‘that’s what friends are for’, and I was wondering if you still…you know?”

“Yes.” Thomas’ response was immediate and sure. “I didn’t mean it like that. I want to be friends, but what…what happened last night, I still…” He swallowed loudly before continuing, more quietly than before. “…I’m still _interested_.” Thomas was bright red and staring intently at his hands on the steering wheel. Newt was just happy that, for once, he wasn’t the one blushing intensely.

“Me too.” It was simple, but it was exactly what Newt was thinking, and hearing it seemed to lift the weight off Thomas’ shoulders; he turned to smile at Newt, but more shyly than before.

“I really wanted to kiss you when I said good morning, but I didn’t know if you would be okay with it, or if you didn’t want your mom to know, or something.” Thomas was talking quietly, with a shy voice that was just making Newt fall more for him.

“I’m okay with that.” Newt felt the need to clarify. “I’d love a good morning kiss.” He felt himself heat up, and could tell he was whispering, but he was starting to feel confident enough not to regret saying things.

“I think I can arrange one.” Thomas shot him a grin before leaning in and stopping just a few inches from Newt, making quick eye contact and then pushing the last few inches forward to touch their lips. Neither of them seemed to move, and they stayed together for a few seconds before Thomas pulled back and whispered “good morning, Newt”, as Newt felt his whole body tingle and his stomach fill with butterflies.

“Morning, Tommy.”

Thomas just smiled and turned the car on, turning into the street and starting towards school.

They were quiet for a minute before Newt’s thoughts went back to their pre-kiss conversation. “My mum does know.”

“She knows that…?” Thomas let the question off unfinished, but Newt couldn’t tell if he was worried or concerned.

“…we kissed. I told her when she got home last night. Is that okay?” Newt wasn’t sure if Thomas wanted to keep their…whatever it was private or mostly so. He didn’t want to force Thomas to be in any kind of public relationship; he was happy to be with Thomas with no one else knowing, if that’s what Thomas wanted.

“Of course it’s okay. I…I told Teresa when I got home.” Thomas was using driving as a convenient excuse to avoid eye contact. “She’s actually the one who told me to tell you how I felt. She said it was obvious the whole afternoon.” Thomas was red again by the time he finished. “I hope you’re okay with that?”

“Yeah.” Teresa was nice, and if she’d been involved in getting them together, Newt was forever grateful to her. But how private did Thomas want their feelings to be? “So, is it just between the four of us, then?”

Thomas looked taken aback. “Is that what you want?”

“Well, I don’t mind if that’s what you want. I’d underst-“ Newt was nervous, and Thomas cut him off before he could finish.

“It’s not what I want.” His voice was firm, and Newt could tell that, for Thomas, this was probably the most important part of their morning conversation so far. “I care about you, Newt. I don’t care if anyone else knows.”

Newt felt totally accepted, a feeling he wasn’t really used to from people other than his mom. Thomas didn’t _want_ their relationship to be a secret. He wanted people to know how he felt. “Thanks Tommy” was all Newt could muster.

“It’s the truth, Newt.” He smiled over at Newt as he pulled into the school parking lot, still ten minutes before the bell. After he parked, they were getting their bags from the backseat when he spoke up again. “So, we have class together until lunch, and then chem after lunch, so we can walk together until then. And you should have lunch with us!” He locked the car as they walked away, looking cheerful as he considered the day ahead of them.

“I’d love to.” And Newt was excited too. It was the first time he’d be in high school with friends, and a boyfriend?

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :) You're awesome! <3


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Across the room he heard Thomas chuckle softly, and then the sound of the desk chair being pushed out, before Thomas plopped down on the floor at the foot of the bed, sitting cross-legged so he was almost face-to-face with Newt, who was lying with his head near the foot of the bed. “You don’t have to apologize.” Newt just blushed harder. “It’s adorable.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you guys! It's obviously been a long time, so I hope you enjoy this short chapter of pure wonderful fluff! <3

“So, we have class together until lunch, and then chem after lunch, so we can walk together until then. And you should have lunch with us!” He locked the car as they walked away, looking cheerful as he considered the day ahead of them.

“I’d love to.” And Newt was excited too. It was the first time he’d be in high school with friends, and a boyfriend?

\--

“You’re staring at me.” Thomas was sitting at Newt’s desk, focusing on the chemistry homework spread out in front of him, and turned away from the bed where Newt was laying on his stomach. When he spoke, he didn’t take his eyes off the desk, and his tone was nonchalant, with just a hint of a smirk on his face.

It was Thursday, and the third day in a row that Thomas had come over to Newt’s house after school to work on homework. Newt thought it would get easier to be around Thomas without embarrassing himself as time went on, but so far, that hadn’t been his experience. Sometimes, when he was around Thomas, he would suddenly notice how ridiculously handsome he was, and end up staring. This was one of those times.

Thomas was sitting in the sunlight coming through the window, making his skin seem to glow, and making his face look almost like a marble statue. His hair was as perfectly styled as ever, and was shining in the glare. He was gorgeous. It hadn’t taken long for Newt to start zoning out while staring at the side and back of Thomas’ head, watching him quickly working through the homework in front of him.

When Thomas spoke, Newt was brought crashing back into reality, and he felt himself blushing hard. He forced his eyes down to the blank chemistry worksheet in front of him. “Sorry.”

Across the room he heard Thomas chuckle softly, and then the sound of the desk chair being pushed out, before Thomas plopped down on the floor at the foot of the bed, sitting cross-legged so he was almost face-to-face with Newt, who was lying with his head near the foot of the bed. “You don’t have to apologize.” Newt just blushed harder. “It’s adorable.”

Looking up, Newt was met by Thomas’ bright eyes and a wide grin. After a second of being lost in those light brown eyes, they glanced down at his mouth, and then Thomas was reaching up and holding the side of his face and pulling him down gently into a kiss. And even though Thomas had kissed him at least a dozen times since Monday, Newt’s lips still tingled every time Thomas went for it again.

It was just peck, but Newt felt the same deliriously happy feeling bubbling up that he always seemed to be feeling when Thomas was around. Pulling back, Thomas was smirking and looking very satisfied with himself. Newt was a blushing mess.

“So, are you done with your homework?” Thomas’ voice didn’t have a trace of the nervous or ecstatic feelings that were mixed up in Newt; instead he was practically the picture of calm happiness.

Newt looked guiltily down at the blank papers in front of him. “No…”

“Me neither.” Thomas was quick to respond, glancing down with Newt at the papers between them, before pushing them out of the way and leaning in to kiss Newt again. “But this is way more fun.”

This time was no peck. The tingle came back instantly to Newt’s lips as Thomas’ hands found their way back to Newt’s neck, and he tilted his head to keep the kiss going. Newt had finally had enough practice in the last few days to be able to kiss back when Thomas started to move his lips, and it made everything even better. The realization would usually hit him suddenly after a few seconds that he was making out with Thomas, which would inevitably end with his stomach exploding with butterflies.

Thomas pulled away gently after a while, still stroking Newt’s jaw line slowly, and happily glancing between Newt’s eyes. His voice was quiet. “We should probably finish our homework, huh?” He was a little breathless as he spoke, and he didn’t move his hands off Newt’s neck.

“Probably.” Newt’s answer was just as reluctant, and he was hoping that Thomas would kiss him again. He even glanced down at Thomas’ mouth, but he managed to do it just as Thomas looked over to the blank worksheets he’d only just pushed out of the way. “Do you want some help?” He looked back up to Newt’s eyes just in time to completely miss Newt’s gaze toward his mouth.

“Yeah, please.” Without Thomas’ help, Newt was pretty sure he’d never finish his chemistry homework.

Thomas hopped happily up onto the bed. “No problem!” He laid down next to Newt and scooted easily up to him so their sides were pressed together on the bed comfortably. Newt pulled the papers back in front of him and sighed deeply, trying to get ready for the horror of chemistry.

\--

“See?” Thomas had reached his arm around Newt’s shoulders, squeezing excitedly. “I told you you could do it!” It had only taken an hour, and Newt hadn’t really needed help with any of it, to his own surprise. “You’ll ace the test for sure!”

Thomas was beaming at him, and Newt was feeling proud of himself too. Something about having Thomas right there with him made chemistry not seem so complicated or overwhelming after all. “Thanks Tommy.”

The front door closed loudly downstairs and Thomas pulled out his phone to check the time. “That’s your mom, which means I should go home too.” He pushed himself off the bed and started collecting the papers off the desk, sliding them into his backpack. Newt moved to sit on the edge of the bed, and found himself staring at Thomas and admiring everything about him. “We’re still on for tomorrow, right?”

Thomas suddenly turning and talking to him broke Newt out of his gaze just as he started. “Yeah.” Earlier that week, Thomas had suggested they try to go to the movies again, with dinner beforehand. He’d called it their first official date, which had left Newt blushing enough for Thomas to tease him jokingly and then to kiss him for several minutes. Obviously, Newt had said yes.

“Awesome!” Thomas’ smile was just pure happiness. “My parents are cool with you spending the night.” Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he stepped over and pecked Newt quickly on the lips, sliding his hand down to take Newt’s as they left the room.

\--

“Hi boys!” Newt’s mom met them at the foot of the stairs, sweeping her hair out of her face and smiling happily at them both.

“Hi Ms. Isaacs!” Thomas was smiling widely too.

Newt had noticed that his mom and Thomas always seemed way too happy to see each other, and it always made him vaguely uncomfortable. Catching his mom’s eye, it was also obvious that she was enjoying how nervous Newt was when she and Thomas were together.

“I’d invite you to stay for dinner, but it looks like you’re leaving now?” She’d talked to Newt for an hour last night about how wonderful it would be to have Thomas over for dinner soon, so she could ‘get to know him better now that he was dating her only son’, but Newt had just blushed at the thought of his mom asking all kinds of embarrassing questions. As if it weren’t enough that she’d already had dinner alone with Thomas while Newt was asleep upstairs not even a week ago, a memory that Newt had been doing well avoiding until she’d brought it up. And just like when she’d suggested it last night, Newt was blushing all over again now.

“Yeah, my mom is expecting me home for dinner tonight.” He glanced over at Newt, and smirked, in exactly the same way Newt’s mom was grinning at him. “But I’d love to have dinner here sometime.”

“Well, you’re always welcome!” She shot one last smile at both of them before turning back toward the kitchen, leaving Thomas grinning at Newt as they walked to the front door.

Before opening the door, Thomas turned back and leaned in for another quick kiss, before squeezing Newt’s hand gently. “See you in the morning?”

“Yeah.” Newt still hadn’t fully accepted that this was his life; saying sweet goodbyes to Thomas, with handholding and kissing.

A final, adorable grin, and Thomas was out the door, and Newt turned to find his mom smirking at him from the dining room. “You’re quite the adorable couple, aren’t you?”

It was as if blushing was becoming Newt’s default state.

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely intend to update more often now that the semester has restarted and I'm on a more regular routine.
> 
> Leave a comment to let me know what you think!


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